Together
by Seph Lorraine
Summary: (AU.RanKen) One day she saw him in the flower shoppe and fell in like with his charm. One night he came over to her house and fell in love with... her brother! Complete.
1. Me and you and you and me

This idea hit me while I was writing something else and I couldn't wait to get to it, so I started it immediately. I am so happy about this story! It's not planned to be incredibly long or involved like my other projects, but more like a romantic-comedy (with a pinch of angst, of course). 

_Seph Lorraine_ (6 March 2005)

Warning: This starts out at KenAya (by that I mean Ran's sister), but it will not stay that way (RanKen love makes the world a better place). An AU fic, Ran's family is all alive and intact, and Ken was never a pro-soccer player. Do re mi fa so la ti do.

Pst. If sentences just cut off randomly, it just means someone's been cut off/interrupted.

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**Together  
**by _Seph Lorraine_

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He stood at the door, leaning on the post, breathing ragged and looking for all like the poor orphan from a classic children's tale. He wore a thin white-cotton shirt and jeans that were faded and ragged with use; his wrinkled green over-shirt, three times two big for him as all of his clothes were, provided little to enhance what could have possibly been a very attractive young man. In addition to all of this, he was soaking wet.

He put on his best smile and bowed respectively at the glaring redheaded man standing just inside of the house. He was a rather sad and pathetic image, worthy of sympathy if nothing else.

But Fujimiya Ran didn't do sympathy.

"You're dripping on the rug."

"Oh!" The stranger's expressive brown eyes widened as he looked down beneath his feet at the rather large wet-stain that was slowly growing on the flowered-mat at his feet. "I thought that's what it was there for."

"It's for wiping your shoes on when they're wet; not absorbing the wetness from the rest of you." The voice held no tone as it accompanied an expressionless gaze.

"Eh! Right... Sorry." The man stepped back from the rug onto the brick-tiling of the small porch-area. Vaguely he wondered what was wrong with the stoic man that had answered the door, "I'm looking for Aya-chan, if"

"Why are you looking for Aya?" The redhead, if it was even possible, seemed even less pleased by this.

"Well, we were supposed to..." He drifted off, taking in the older man with a quick cursory glance. He was tall and lithe, clothed in a simple black sweater and slacks, making his beige-tinted slippers appear somewhat ridiculous. His very stance was formidable, and despite the fact that they were only a few centimetres difference in height, Ken still felt the urge to take a step or two backwards. "Well, _you're_ a very guarded individual, aren't you?" He muttered to himself.

"I beg your pardon." The tone had dropped even lower, now; violet eyes were barely slits peering from a smooth pale face.

"No need to beg." He answered almost automatically, but quickly caught himself before he made the man any worse off on him, "Aya-_san_ and I were supposed to finish a project for the school festival." Inside, he cursed himself. He was a coward, and a horrible liar, but he had been ill-prepared for this. Aya hadn't warned him about the security guard the Fujimiya household seemed to keep handy by the

"Ken-kun!"

He blinked, suddenly finding the girl in question pushing the redhead aside and bounding out the door way to pounce on him, "I was expecting you earlier! You're half an hour late!" She pulled back and frowned, just realising how soaking wet the man she was embracing was, "Oh..."

Ken chuckled lightly and gestured with his head out into the rainy evening where his bike was parked just outside of the small lot on the street-corner, "I got caught in the rain."

"Oh, you poor thing!" She spun on her brother quickly, "Oniichan, get him some towels! Mum will kill me if I have him dripping all over the carpet."

Ran didn't budge, "Who is he and what is this about the school festival?"

Aya paused wiping at the wet-spots on her skirt and blouse with her hands to stare up at her brother with curious and confused eyes, "What school festi"

"The one that we're in charge of." Ken cut in with a cough, subtly nudging her with his shoe.

The redhead threw him a thoroughly unimpressed glance.

"Oh!" Light spun itself around Aya's smile as what he was getting at dawned on her, "Yes, _that _festival!" She turned back to her brother, "It's just a small thing the school is doing as a sort of fundraiser. Since we're on student council, we're in charge... and stuff."

Ran didn't seem to be buying it.

"Yes, but we must get to work now! So go get him some towels, 'nii-chan!" The grinned brightly, giving him a playful push back inside, but he didn't budge.

"Who is he?"

Ken bowed again quickly, "Hidaka Ken. I am... a senior at... her highschool." He cringed at how lame that sounded.

A red brow quirked in unimpressed amusement, "_Her_ highschool?"

They were all silent."

"Um, _our_ highschool."

"You know, where we go to school..."

"Together."

"Not that we actually go to school together, but like, we both go there..."

"At the same time."

"But we don't walk to school together or anything."

"Together." Ran frowned at the word.

"In fact, we're hardly ever together at all, even at school."

"We just go there. You know... for education and stuff."

"And stuff?"

Ken blinked. He couldn't remember having ever been in a situation like this where the final result was a _good_ one, so he changed tactics, "Gods, it's kind of cold out here, you know..."

Ran frowned, reading the other man's tactics as easily as a bold-printed _Dick and Jane_ volume.

Aya blinked from where she had been watching in sadistic amusement as her beau lied his face off to her brother. Badly. Yet, her brother actually seemed to be just as amused as she, he could see through it without effort, but he was amused none the less. Giving in to her kinder side, which told her that watching the guy she had been daydreaming about non-stop for the past four weeks getting verbally pounded into the ground by her oniichan's scathing wit and over-protective nature would not be a good thing, she gave the redhead a quick shove inside the door, "Towels, Ran. Now."

He glared narrowly at her before seceeding back into the house to find some towels.

When he was gone, she leaned forward and kissed the soaking brunette chastly on the cheek, "You're a horrible liar, Ken-kun."

He frowned, eyeing her wearily, "Well, you didn't warn me about your guard dog."

At that she burst into musical laughter, "Aw, he's a real softy when you get to know him."

A door slammed somewhere with the house and there was a heavy _thunk _against a wall.

Aya twitched.

The brunett blinked his windened eyes, "Yes. I'm sure he is."

Regaining her composure, she giggled, "So. You go to my school now, do you?" She poked his chest jokingly with her index finger, stepping a little closer, "Isn't twenty years just a little bit old for that?"

"Perhaps..." Ken smirked, leaning closer a little more.

"_Towels_." A monotoned drawl cut in.

The two jumped apart instantly and looked innocent, Aya smiling sweetly and accepting the materials from her brother. Ken simply coughed into his hand and moved his gaze to some interesting spot on the wall.

The redhead stepped back into the house, leaving the door open, "If you're going into your room, keep the door open."

At that Aya halted from unfolding the towels and tossing them onto her dripping guest and turned to her brother with the beginnings of a scowl on her lips. His same hardened gaze was reflected with her own dark eyes, "No, Ran. It's not like he's going to _rape _me or something."

Ran's eyes went wide for a split second, causing Aya to mentally berate herself for giving him yet another thing to become paranoid over.

"Keep. Your. Door. Open." He said firmly with an exaggerated glare towards the silent brunett. He stalked off, feet sounded in slight stomps into the cozily lit living room, looking all the while like a pouting, angry child afraid of some baggy sod thieving his imouto's virtue. It was a spectre of amusement despite the semi-rationable reasoning behind it.

The two stood at the doorway in a thoroughly uncomfortable silence for a moment, as Ken dried himself off hastily with the towels. He paused suddenly, while ringing out his green over-shirt and looked up to meet her eyes, his own wide in earnest, "I wouldn't rape you, you know that right?"

She laughed again at that, "I know. Don't let him get to you. If he knows you're afraid of him, he'll only be worse about it. Just don't give in to him, and don't give him reason not to like you."

He quirked an eyebrow absently, completing his task of drying off, "You don't think me being here is reason enough for him not to like me?"

She smiled, pulling him a bit closer, "He's just a bit over-protective. You probably won't have to see him that often, anyway. He goes to Tokyo University, so he's not usually here. He just came back to visit this weekend."

"Aa." He was somewhat surprised when he felt something of a weight lift from his shoulders. He really hated lying to people, even if it was only over small things, and he already felt guilt from this only momentary encounter; he couldn't imagine having to repeat this process everytime he came over. "I just hate lying..."

"Well, sometimes it's just necessary. I'm only seventeen, Ken-kun. He would freak out if he knew I had a boyfriend, especially an older one." She raised her eyebrows mischeviously.

Ken mock-frowned at her, "Yea, you're not even legal yet, are you"

"It's hardly a scandal! Just three years!" Aya slapped him playfully on the arm.

The brunett laughed softly, bunching up the now damp and messy towels in his arms.

"Come inside, it's cold out here." She smiled and took his hand, Ken trailing lightly behind her as they walked inside together.

**to be continued**

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_"She makes herself so likable; it's attracting to everybody. But not everybody means well."  
_Reviews are appreciated. 


	2. No matter how they toss the dice

I'm hoping to keep this updated on Fridays. Hoping be the keyword there. Yes, I'm aware it's Sunday. 

(13 March 2005)

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**Together **  
by _Seph Lorraine_

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The evening had been side-stepping a virtual disastor as far as Ken was concerned. The pale redhead hadn't exactly been as much an object of fear as he was a disturbance. A disturbance to Ken's nerves and sudden desire for pacifism (despite the other man's eagerness to obliterate his own existance, he really wished the other man no ill-will). 

Immediately following their entry of the small, curb-side house, he and Aya had removed themselves from her brother's view, closing the bedroom door despite his objections. Thus a battle ensued:

Aya closed the door.

Ran opened it.

Aya locked it.

Ran banged on it.

Aya threatened to call their mother.

Ran threatened to call their father.

Finally, Aya gave in and decided to keep the door open, as it wasn't like they were really doing anything incredibly demanding of privacy anyway (not that they didn't want to or hadn't thought about it; they weren't that innocent). Ken was perched at the end of her bed flipping absently through a box of CDs, as she sat on her floor drinking a Cherry Coke and finishing some Chemistry homework. They talked idly, just enjoying hanging out, every once in a while Aya would ask him "how the charts were coming" and what conclusion he'd come to about having a ramen stall at "the festival" to keep her brother out of their business, but Ran wasn't fooled by this.

Ken tried to make himself as unincriminating as possible, but alas, he was doomed from the moment he met Fujimiya Ran.

"You don't have any books with you."

The brunette looked up from where he was drawing a characture of the girl sitting before him, the same activity he'd been doing for almost 30 minutes, making the girl laugh and giving him excuses to reach over and silence her giggles quietly with a kiss before her brother came barging in again on his every-five-minutes routine to approve the absense of any "funny business". He hadn't even noticed the stoic redhead had returned, yet he had no way of really being surprised when he looked up and found that the other man had, indeed, re-entered the room.

"Books?" He questioned thoughtfully.

"Yes. I would think that to work on this festival project, you would have some sort of papers or books." Violet eyes were narrowed and calculating.

Ken shrugged, "It was raining... I didn't want them to get wet."

Aya stiffled a snigger by coughing into her hand and reaching for her soda.

The tall man was silent for a moment more before turning and simply walking out of the room.

The dark-haired girl began to giggle, dropping her pencil and calculator.

"Is he always like this?" Ken quirked an eyebrow.

She continued to smile, "Only when I have boys over. And sometimes girls that he thinks are a bit sketchy. Or when I'm too quiet..." She drifted off, "Or when I don't come out of my room for a while. Or when I'm on the phone too long. And sometimes when"

Ken thumped the book he was using to bear-down on lightly against her forhead, then drew it back with a grin, "Enough of that."

She smirked one last time and turned back to her studies, "You know you don't have to stay here if you don't want. I would suggest other things we could do, but I really doubt Ran would allow it. I didn't really think he would be _this_ annoying when I invited you over, but it would seem he has surprised me again."

"Meh, it's ok. Anyway, they cancelled the match between Brazil and"

"Aa! You just want to hang out with me because they cancelled some stupid soccer game!" She pouted, scribbling down some nonsense about Boyle's law into her notebook.

He rolled his eyes and poked her, "Don't get like that, you know that's not true."

"I thought students weren't allowed to drive."

The room's two occupants froze and slowly their eyes drifted again to the door frame where the elder Fujimiya sibling stood for what could have believably been the 35th time that evening.

Ken felt his eye twitch and he turned to face the redhead, "Yes, Fujimiya-san?"

"I said, I thought students weren't allowed to drive." Violet eyes were afire with the embers of victory, and his demeanor was smug despite his face being as expressionless as ever.

"Well," The brunett paused for a moment before answering, "I don't drive it to school, so I guess I don't have to worry about that rule."

The redhead stalked off again angrily, sending Aya into yet another fit of giggles, "Gods, he's being bizzare today. I swear it's never been _this_ bad before."

Ken rolled his eyes, feeling a bit tired suddenly, "Next time he's here, warn me."

"Next time he's here, we'll go to your place." She laughed lightly, closing her chemistry notebook and reaching for a different one.

Absently glancing at his watch, the brunette frowned, "I guess I had better get going. I need to get groceries anyway, and I have first shift tomorrow."

She frowned, "If Ran's really annoying you that much, you can just tell me, Ken-kun. I won't get offended, I swear."

He gave her a small smile, "It's not your brother, if it's anything it's your carpet, because it smells weird"

Mock-offense, "My carpet does _not_ smell weird!"

"When was the last time you took a sniff?"

"Well, I can't say that's really a leisurely activity I often enjoy..."

He smirked, "No seriously. If I don't buy the food while I have my check, I'll spend it all on something else and be forced to live on instant ramen for another month."

"You seem like the type of person who wouldn't necessarily mind that, though."

Ken rolled his eyes and lifted himself up, setting down the book and papers on her bed, "That's beside the point."

She smiled up at him as he leaned down and gave her a kiss. It was a soft kiss with maybe a bit more pressure than earlier, almost a hint at something else, yet it was only a parting kiss. For the hundredth time that evening Aya mentally cursed her brother's constant presence.

He stood straight again, "I'll show myself out. If your brother asks, I'm hiding in his closet waiting to jump out and kill him when he goes to bed tonight." He winked.

She slapped his closest appendage, his left leg and gave him an "I wouldn't joke like that" kind of look before glancing at the door swiftly and smirking at the joke, "I'll pay you if you really do it."

He gave her a mock-startled look, and his voice thick with sarcasm as he made his way to the door, "You just play innocent! Aya-chan, I'm shocked!" He winked at her, "Good night!"

He made his way through the hallway, shuffling through his pockets for his keys. He set aside his borrowed house-slippers with the others by the door and stepped quickly into his own before opening the door. Or at least trying to.

It was locked.

A small movie-reel seemed to play itself through the brunett's mind in which Ran stood behind him with an axe as he frantically tried to open or break down the locked door. The redhead would ask him in that cold voice, as his piercing violet eyes boared holes into the back of his head, "Going somewhere, Hidaka?" And then he would cackle, and the room would be illuminated for a brief moment by a flash of lightening in which all the lights would go out and his last picture would be Ran lifting the axe and laughing evilly at him as he writhed and screamed against the locked door with utter terror and

"Going somewhere, Hidaka?"

"AAAAAAAAAA!" The brunette whirled around, throwing himself against the doorway with great zeal as he put his arms out to block his face, "PUT DOWN THE AXE!"

There was a brief pause as all life in the foyer went still.

Ran blinked, "Excuse me?"

Ken stood frozen for a moment before he slowly lowered his arms and glanced around quickly, eyes scanning the redhead's hands for any devices of injury. Finding none, he allowed himself to slump forward and breathe deeply, damning his over-active imagination, "So sorry about that, I guess I kind of got carried away for a minute."

The older man couldn't hide his amusement, "It would seem." A red eyebrow lifted highly in question, "Did you tell me to put down an axe?"

"Eheh!" The brunette wiped a bit of sweat from the side of his face, "No, of course not. That would just be stupid. Eheh..." Realising that his side seemed to be aching suddenly, he reached to his side and poked the left side of his abdomen, frowning when it stung.

"You jumped against the door pretty hard, I would imagine it hurts. However, if you have broken the door, you will be required to pay for it despite any injury you have just inflicted upon yourself by trying to throw yourself through solid matter." Hard eyes seemed expressionless.

"Meh, I didn't break your door, alright?" The slightly shorter man rolled his eyes, lifting a bit of his damp shirt lightly to examine his red-tinted side. It would probably bruise.

Ran could have smirked to see the slowly tinting skin on the side of the man's abdomen, but he refused to wear the joy of such a trivial triumph so openly around someone he hardly knew. His eyes paused from their gaze at the man's forming injury and drifted to what was exposed of the other man's bronzed stomach. He was well conditioned, obviously worked out, would probably look quite attractive in something that actually fit him, but that was all he'd say for Aya's taste in men. Yes, he knew Ken was something more than a schoolmate to Aya, in fact he was probably too old to even be _in_ school anymore. That was something that deeply worried the redhead.

"Hidaka-san." He addressed the man cooly, his smug demeanor returning for the moment. Now was the time to make himself clear with the other man. The door was locked, and until he had his say the other man would not be released from the house, "I want you to listen closely to what I am about to say."

Tanned hands smoothed a white shirt back down, brown eyes lifting to stare at the man before him ready for a speech that really didn't even need to be given to be understood. He had sort of been expecting it all evening, with the other man's constant intrusions, yet when he had reached the door he had been relieved with the thought that he wouldn't have to deal with it. He had been quite mistaken, the other man had probably even locked the door for the very purpose.

"I believe I know what your intentions are with my sister, and I know her intentions with you. Don't think that you've really fooled me with what you've said this evening, because I haven't believed any of it. I cannot stop what is going on in a way my sister would deem fair in her naïveté, but," His gaze narrowed and his tone lowered, "If I ever find out that you have hurt her or done anything to her of a nature which I consider to be inappropriate, I will have the skin removed from your face and sewn onto the doormat as a warning for you and anyone else whom ever tries it again. Then I will kill you."

Ken absently registered that he was gaping and muttered tonelessly, "You _are_ insane."

"Have I made myself clear?"

The brunette made to nod but paused before he could complete the action, suddenly appearing curious, "Wait a minute... What exactly are the kind of things you deem _inappropriate_? 'Cause, I mean, that's kind of subective."

Ran was taken off guard by the question, he really hadn't been expecting a response from the other man. He it shook off the surprise quickly, his eyes becoming little more than slits of icy violet, "Do you ever think of _touching _her, Hidaka-san?"

At that, the brunette raised his eyebrow, "I don't really feel like discussing this with you"

"Well, don't." His voice seemed to hit ice as he spoke the words. He stepped forward slowly with the appearance of a panther towards it's prey, and the brunett felt himself step back instinctively until his back was against the door. The cool and calculating man before him, however, did not stop until he was only inches away, and Ken could smell the slightly older man's cologne. Not breaking eye-contact for a moment, he set the key into the lock and turned it slowly, before backing up to a respectable distance, "Have a good evening Hidaka-san."

And then muttered sarcastically beneath his breath, "Don't wreck and kill yourself on the way home."

Ken simply stared for a moment, regarding the odd situation and salutation with a cautious mind. The elder Fujimiya sibling was a character not quite like anyone he had ever met before. Everything about him radiated a sort of calm, collected elegance, from the slant of his eyes to the distinctly feminine tilt of his hips as he stood by the door awaiting his exit.

"I'll see if I can avoid it." He tilted his head, not quite bowing, just an acknowledgement, before stepping out into the darkness of the front walkway.

Ran watched the man walk out into the rain with a strange dignity. He certainly wasn't like Aya's last few "schoolmates" of the male sex that had visited. Ken had managed to keep himself at least moderately composed (except he wasn't sure about what had happened when the brunette had completely flipped out and yelled at him), where as the others seemed to cower before him and leave at a sprint to get away. He never saw the others again, that was how effective his strategy of scare-tactics was, but something vaguely told him he wouldn't be too shocked to see Hidaka Ken back tomorrow.

Something else even more discreetly added he wouldn't be disappointed to see him again, either.

He snapped out of it and shut the door silently after noticing the the other man and his bike were already missing from the corner, and probably had been for a while. Sighing he locked it, setting the key on the table, and turning around to see his imouto standing in the hallway staring at him with a grim, calculating expression.

"You've been acting awfully strange tonight, oniichan." Her voice held a sage, yet admonishing tone, as if she knew something and were somehow ashamed of it.

He quirked a thin red eyebrow and headed in the opposite direction towards the kitchen, "I've had a rough week at university, only to come home and find out my little seventeen year-old sister is seeing older guys, whom probably aren't even in school anymore, and that she is lying about it, and getting them to lie about it directly to my face." He didn't pause in his stride, "What did you expect?"

She frowned as she stood in the door way, having followed him on his tirade, and watched him begin to prepare a kettle or tea, "Well what did you expect me to do about it, 'niichan? He's only twenty"

"And you're only seventeen." The older sibling cut in smoothly.

"It's just three years, Ran!"

He halted what he was doing and set his mug down firmly on the counter top, still facing the sink, "No, Aya. It is not just three years. It may seem like that to you, but I'm warning you, it's a lot more. You know I'm not the same as I was when I was three years ago."

"But your circumstances are... different." She hesitated on the last word, the fire dying in her voice.

He turned to regard her with a sharp eye, "And you know all about his circumstances, I assume. The most significant changes in life are during the years when you go out on your own, Aya. When you're forced to grow up. He's probably there, now, and that's no place for a high-school girl to be."

She was silently and did not meet his eyes, "But I know him..."

Sighing, and dropping his hardened expression, he slumped his shoulders and looked at her as if he were trying to explain something to a child much younger than seventeen, "What _do_ you know about Hidaka-san?"

She frowned, pulling out a chair at the table and sitting quietly not surprised when he joined her soon after, "I know... He works at the Koneko no Sumu Ie selling flowers four times a week, he grew up in Tokyo, he quit highschool in the middle of his last year and has been doing menial jobs ever since. I know other things..."

"Menial jobs?"

"Yea, lifting boxes, he was a waiter for a while, and he coaches soccer in the park on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. He's really good at soccer." She looked at him, "But I know he's a good guy, 'niichan. He wouldn't ever hurt me."

Ran frowned, absently thinking that it must have been the soccer that kept the younger man so fit, and was silent for a while as if pondering what to say next. Truthfully, he didn't sound awful, but still a bit suspicious. He had been very familiar with the reasons by which many of his own peers had dropped out of school; drugs, alcohol, and criminal involvement were among them.

"Aya, a lot happens to people over three years." He looked up, his eyes searching out her own, "He may be a good guy, but the fact of the matter is that he's not in your state of mind, being seventeen and still in school, anymore. He may like you now, but relationships like this do not end up well, and it's always the younger person who gets hurt. You're setting yourself up for a lot of pain."

She stared at him blankly, "Just because you're always afraid of getting hurt, doesn't mean I am, oniichan. I am willing to take the risk that it may turn out well or bad, and I will. I do appreciate your concern, but I'm not a child, Ran. I can take care of myself just fine."

He watched her wordlessly as she stood and exited without another word. A few seconds later a firm slam was heard from her bedroom door, and another door was heard opening. That hadn't gone over like he had hoped it would.

Mr. Fujimiya entered the kitchen suddenly, covered in rain, and dropped his briefcase into a chair. He jumped slightly when he noticed his son sitting motionless at the table staring at the vacant doorway. The two met eyes for a moment in which the room's atmosphere seemed to harden and freeze. The older man regained his composure, nodding curtly, and left the room without word.

Ran just barely resisted snarling at the man before dropping his head onto the table with a _thunk_ and wishing he had just stayed at school for the weekend. Even if his roommate did smoke like a chimney and was rarely seen sober after seven in the evening or awake before one in the afternoon. Even if every piece of furniture they owned, his bed probably included to his own disgust, had been soiled by the explicit actions of said man and some facelss girl named Kyoko/Ayumi/Akane/Sakura/Keiko/Yui/Megumi/etc.

For once Ran felt like he could totally handle that.

**to be continued**

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**Thank you...**

**Xellas **- Yes, a romantic comedy! Hurrah for simple, light-hearted get-together fics! And yes, Ran makes such a wonderful older brother. Every girl should have one. :)

**empyreal** - I'm so happy it was amusing to you. As for soaking wet Ken, there is more of that to come, hopefully. Or atleast if this fic goes the way I have it in my head, anyway.

**keishin** - I think your review got cut off. It just ended suddenly on the word "I". :( Aa well, I'm happy you like the fic. As for the "long one", I dunno when that will update again. Maybe I'll get inspired one day...

**siberian-emerald** - I'm happy you seemed to enjoy the first part. Despite the unoriginality in the general idea, there are some fic ideas that have to be written anyway. Someone's got to make the idea unoriginal, and what better may than to write a fic using the unoriginal idea:D

**Wan wingu no tenshi** - (omfg! I love the orchestra version of One Winged Angel from FFVII! I totally didn't need to tell you that...) Thank you for your comments! I'm glad you like Ken; he rocks my face off.

**HeatherR **- Yes, I started something new, even though I already have so much going. Aa, well. I'm so happy you liked the first part. As for Aya and Ken together, it's supposed to seem sweet and innocent, really. Of course, Ken is nothing like that, so I don't think he'll be able to put up with that for long, especially if Ran's hanging around looking all beautiful and whatnot. ;)

**M4r1-ch4n** - Yes, over-portective Ran is adorable. :) And much abuse-able. I hope you enjoy!

**Lk** - Over-protective brother Ran just makes a lot of sense given how fond of her he is in the anime. It would make sense. Thanks for reading:)

**Chitoshiya no Tohma** - Thanks for reading!

**dark **- The legality I was referring to is that for a person to be considered "legal" they must be 18, the age of affirmed adulthood. Not the principle of years allowed between people who date. :) Thanks for reading!

**The Weater Atropos** - (Flinching at your pointing) I didn't tell you I wrote it because it was really sudden. As soon as I got the idea I wrote it out and posted, there wasn't really a break between my getting the idea, writing it, and posting it. :) The "her highschool" blurb made me giggle madly when I wrote it, too. Unfortunately, the website (which won't have itself named in text for some reason) took out Ran's ellipsical dialogue of nothingness and screwed up the format. RanKen coming soon!

**Rapunzel4** - The Aya liking Ken theme... You picked up on that, eh? It's not so much that I like that idea as it is that jealous-Ran turns me to fan-girl mush, quite honestly. And I've been intrigued of how he would handle the situation of loving the guy his sister, whom he also loves, likes. It's just a very touchy situation. The RanKen will not be delayed for long, though:D Thank you for your comments!

**Krysana** - Yes, fan-girl envy at Aya-chan and her Ken-kissing! Aya's just fun to write, she's like the little girl who would have to be just a bit spoiled, but a bit sweet. She and Ken might actually be good together if she were taller and emotionless with redhair and... well, if she were her brother. / Meh, that was a tangent. Anyway, RanKen soon hopefully! (crosses fingers)

**Rie **- I'm happy you enjoyed the first part, and the character interaction. Thanks for reading!

**kyria valkyrie** - Yes, there has been a dramatic lack of RanKen lazy. Sometimes I feel it will drive me mad. :( I'm so happy you're enjoying this, though! RanKen is love!

**Anendee** - Happy you enjoyed:D

**Silverfrost** - Ran's like your dad? XD I guess he does seem sort of paternal like that. As for the significance to the quote at the end, there is none. The quotes are just pieces I had to cut from the part that I liked or thought were insightful/inducing to smutty thoughts. Sorry it confused you!

Narijima - I hope you liked this! As for SD, I dunno when the next update will be. I've pretty much lost interest with it, and I don't know quite how to get it back. Thank you so much for the comments, though! I hope you continue to readmaybe I'll finish this fic. Maybe I'll beable to get back into SD, too.

**D-Star** - No _Dick and Jane_ for you then? Aa, you should see "Learning Yiddish with Dick and Jane", it will give you new respect for them and people who can sit around making amusing comments about Grandma whilst she's writhing in pain on the floor. XD Seriously, though, I'm happy you're enjoying the fic!

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_" You're a man, evidently a straight one by the way you dress, and all men have certain hormonal tendencies. You can't tell me honestly that the thought hasn't crossed your mind."_  
Reviews are appreciated. 


	3. It had to be

I had to make myself edit this; it almost killed me. It's so hard to write/edit a fic when you're in anticipation of reading one that looks really well-written and lengthy, but I knew that if I didn't complete this and post now, I wouldn't get it done until next week. And that simply wouldn't do. So, voila.

It's Saturday again, and I'm supposed to be updating on Friday... I am strangely not surprised by this.

(18 March 2005)

add: The Sugizo PV mentionedis downloadable on my LJ is you're interested; sorry if this seems at all messed up. That would be the website being an arse. Or something.

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**Together**  
by _Seph Lorraine_

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"Kenken!" 

The brunette twitched at the name from where he was perched on a tall stool behind the counter of the Koneko no Sumu Ie flower shop. Reluctantly he forced his eyes up the magazine he had been reading, playing from the radio in the background were the suddenly very befitting sounds of _Super Love_ by Sugizo and the Spank Your Juice, as if it were specially planned for the ladies man now entering the shop. **1**

"Don't call me that. What do you want?" His tone was grudging and unenthused.

"What? I have to want something, now? I just stopped by to say hi!" The tall blond smirked, his green eyes twinkling mischievously, "And ask you what you're doing tonight, of course."

"Of course." The brunette rolled his eyes.

"Oh, don't be like that. I found the sweetest girl, just perfect for you, Kenken. She's cute, and she really wants to meet you. And my roommate's out right now, so we can all go back to my dorm and hang out after dinner..." Kudou Youji wiggled his eyebrows suggestively causing the slightly younger man before him to sigh in disinterest.

"I'm already kind of seeing someone, no thanks." He turned back to his magazine as if just trying to forget the other man was there.

The room was silent, even his co-worker's laptop, from where it was perched over on a table by the wall, seemed to stop it's consistent humming sound.

It started as a small chuckle. Then it grew into something so offensive, Ken thought he would snap the older-man's neck. Youji was actually bent over with laughter, "You have got to be kidding me!"

"No, I am not!" The brunette bit back sharply, dropping his magazine to glare hotly at the man before him. "I am very capable of making my own dates, asshole."

The older man just continued to laugh as if he hadn't even heard his friend's complaint, "Wait a minute, how did this happen? _When_ did this happen?"

Ken shrugged, shoving his magazine into a drawer, "She just came in here every once in a while with the fan girls, so"

"Whoa! Kenken, what are you thinking?" Youji's green eyes were wide, "You can't actually date one of the fan-girls! Remember the chaos that happened when Omi dated that Ouka chick and they found out they were, like, cousins?"

"Shhh!" Ken slapped a hand over the older man's mouth and looked around frantically for his missing co-worker. Omi had disappeared an hour or two ago into the back room and had been unheard from since, "You know we're not supposed to talk about that!"

The lanky blond sighed, "You know what I'm talking about Ken. Those girls are just not worth getting involved with."

"She's not one of the fan-girls. Just every now and then she would show up with one of her friends and talk to me, she asked me to go out with her sometime, so I said sure. It's not serious or anything." He shrugged.

There was a scraping sound as Youji pulled one of the project stools up the counter to have a seat, "You don't sound exactly thrilled, here."

"It's not that." Ken frowned for a moment before elabourating, "I went to see her at her house last night, right? Well, I guess she just sort of forgot to warn me about her psychotically possessive older brother."

Youji winced at the implications in the other man's tone and frowned sympathetically, "Didn't go over well, I take it."

"The guy threatened to rip the skin off my face and sew it to his doormat if I touched her! He's a fucking psycho. Pretty face, but a complete nutcase."

"That rhymed," The older man remarked absently, "Gods, I hate the psychotic older-brother situation. Well, I guess the question now is whether she's worth" He was cut off as something seemed to click in his mind, "Did you just call him attractive?"

Ken shrugged, "You should see the guy, it's almost creepy how red his hair is."

"Like Schu's?"

"Redder."

"Damn." The older man sounded impressed, "Natural?"

"I wasn't about to find out."

"Is he gaijin?"

"Nope."

"_Damn_. Is he available?"

"Wasn't about to ask."

"Of course he's not available." Youji rolled his eyes, "The good ones never are."

Ken stared at the older man blankly, "Did you not just hear me say the guy's a fucking psychopath?"

"But a hot psychopath." Youji input thoughtfully.

Silence.

"Marriages have been built on less."

"Youji."

"You should ask him. Or if you're not interested, at least get _me_ his number."

"Youji."

"But then again, is he even interested in guys? He's probably straight."

"Shut up."

Grinning widely, Youji leaned forward, "Regretting the old days?"

A narrow glare from the brunette and the sound of the stool-legs scrapping the floor as Ken lifted from his perch, "I thought we weren't going to talk about _him_, either."

Sensing the building fire in his temperamental companion, Youji tried to steer onto safer-ground, "We aren't. Just keep in mind that all men aren't filth; just look at me."

"Ha! _That_ wasn't egotistical at _all_." This time the response came from Omi. The short blond walked briskly out of the back room, pulling off a pair of dirtied gloves as he did so.

"Omittchi! I barely knew you were here!" The older man chuckled.

"It surprises me that you were even that observant." The young man spoke dryly, as if he were already bored with the conversation, but that was just how tiring the older man's antics could be sometimes. He pulled out a pen and a notepad, jotting something down and pulling out a seed-catalogue. "I thought I heard you out here, considered just staying back there until you left, but I have to be leaving now anyway."

"You always act so dismissive! You're hardly one to speak, chibi. You know my matchmaking skills work wonders." He winked. "At least I'm sure Nagi thinks so."

Omi blushed lightly at the mention of his boyfriend; it was true Youji threw a lot of people together, but he actually had a way of picking good pairs (that meaning people who were actually agree-able and complemented each other). He had only been really wrong before once, and had almost lost his best friend over it. Since then he had been trying quite hard to find Ken another match, as if it were the only way his guilt could be lifted.

Ken and Youji still managed to hold on to their friendship; though it was obvious that most of the work in maintaining it came from the elder of the two.

Ripping the piece of paper off of the pad and stuffing it into a page on the catalogue, he turned to Ken, who was stacking some boxes to be moved to the curb, "Are you gonna' stay after and make these orders, or do I need to come in early tomorrow?"

The brunet looked up, "I'll stick around and do it; you should be at school."

Youji looked disappointedly at his friend, "Aa, you don't want to at least _meet_ her?"

The youngest smiled, grabbing his bag and hanging his apron up in his typical genki fashion, "Thanks, Ken-kun! I gotta' be off! Bye Yotan!" He spared them both a wave before exiting and bouncing along his own way.

"Sorry, Youji. Just tell her I'm not interested right now."

The blond nodded with a sigh, "I guess I'll have to. I'm going to go pick up some cigarettes; I'll be back in a while, ok?"

"Sure," Ken shrugged, nudging the boxes he had stacked up with his foot, "Set those on the curb on your way out?"

"Tsch! You don't pay me anything, why should I"

"Youji." The name was almost a growl.

The man in question huffed, "There is no love here. No love at all." He made his way out the door, toting has cargo carefully only to drop it in an ungraceful heap upon the curb and take off down the sidewalk for a 7-11.

Once he was gone, Ken sat tiredly upon the stool again and picked up the catalogue Omi had left, reading the list of orders needed that he had left in the page. Several minutes of peace passed as the gentle sounds of a soft song drifted from the radio, and he began the tedious process of writing up order forms.

"Ken-kun!" The voice interrupted his request for three boxes of poppies, which made him wonder vaguely if Omi had taken to making opium, and he looked up.

"Aya-chan." He smiled lightly as the dark-haired girl entered the shop quite unexpectedly, "What are you doing here?"

The girl smiled, moving towards the counter, "'Niichan and I were eating at the cafe across the street. He's still paying, so I had to come say hello! It's also starting to rain, so I wanted to get inside before I got wet."

Ken nodded absently, "What have you been up to?"

Shrugging, she leaned across the counter to kiss him lightly on the cheek, "I have to go home and study for a maths test tomorrow."

The brunette blinked, "So happy I don't have to put up with that stuff anymore."

"Yea, it sucks." She laughed, wondering over to poke and point at the various assortment of flowers like an excited child, her voice a melody of soprano laughter in his ears.

Not for the first time, Ken questioned what he was doing with a high-school girl. He had wondered before. Yet, her purity was always amplified by the simplest things.

"I think about you all the time, Ken-kun, but I don't get to see you often. I'll have to come by more." She winked, and glanced over his work, "That looks awfully boring. I'm glad I don't have to work yet."

He rolled his eyes at her as she stood began trailing through the man flowers on display in the store.

Watching her walk across the room to examine an arrangement of violets, his world seemed to slow down around him.

He was young, yet he was old. Everything about her was younger and protected, whereas next to her he felt aged and somewhat out of place. She was just learning who she was and when she was officially an adult, that person would change; he had already been who he was for a while, having been ahead of schedule in the roads he had taken so far. She was still safe under the protection of her parent's roof, while he had abandoned that years before.

He enjoyed being simply listless and teasing around her; but it was unnerving to feel like he didn't belong there.

He vaguely registered the chime of the bell as the door opened and the elder Fujimiya sibling entered, clothed in black same as last time. His violet gaze flickered momentarily over the expanse of the shop, before turning their narrowed view to the counter, where Ken sat. He halted his advance into the shop when their eyes met.

Aya was asking him something, but he couldn't seem to decipher her words. Was she still speaking Japanese? Stormy violet eyes did not move from his own gaze but continued to watch, waiting for him to move or say something before their owner pounced on it with some scathing verbal remark.

"Ken-kun?" Aya sounded deeply confused.

Snapping out of his momentarily angst-induced daze, he turned his head only to find the girl leaning right into his face, and jumped back in shock, "Aya-chan! Hi! How was your day?"

Aya frowned.

Ran rolled his eyes, muttering something about spastic tendencies.

"Are you ok, Ken-kun?" She asked

Shaking his head, the brunet nodded, "Yea, sorry. It's just been a long day."

"Oh, ok." She looked mildly disappointed by something. "You just seem a bit spacy. I hope you're not getting sick or something."

"Aya-chan," Ran was moving towards the door again, "We should get going, now."

Nodding, with a slightly worried glance, she threw a wave at Ken and stepped out under the awning, "I'll call you! Take care of yourself and get lots of rest just in case!"

He made to turn back to the catalogue but the elder Fujimiya caught his eyes one last time, giving him only the acknowledgement of a small nod. Strangely though, the older man wasn't glaring, he almost looked teasing with a glint in his violet eyes, and as he turned away, there was no mistaking the slight smile that graced the redhead's thin lips.

Ken felt dimly that he might be blushing.

His head dropped to the counter with an ungraceful _thunk_.

It was a while later until Youji reappeared, smelling of fresh smoke, and attire somewhat soggy from the weather, "Well someone's just full of sunshine today!"

"Urusai." His head did not lift fromt he seed catalogue.

"Oh, come now. Placing flower orders can't be that difficult. If you can spell and count, you'll do fine." Ken raised his head only for a moment to give a narrow-eyed glare before dropping it once more.

Sighing, Youji took his seat on the stool to Ken's left and gave the younger man a tired look, "What's up, now?"

Shoulders shrugged.

"I can't help you if you won't tell me what's wrong."

"I don't want your help."

"Then what do you want?"

"To be left alone." The brunet grumbled, remaining in his slumped position, forehead to the countertop.

Youji slammed his fist down on the countertop instantly, causing his companion to spring up away from the vibration and give him a baffled look, "No, Kenken! You are not going to do this. You will not get moody on me like this! You're coming out with me and Schu, tonight. You will meet Yuriko, and then tomorrow you're coming again. And you're going to have fun and like it."

Ken groaned, "I'm not moody; I'm just thinking about something."

"Well, then, what is it?"

The brunet was silent for a moment, "You know when you're seeing someone, but you don't really intend on keeping up with them all the time like you would if it were someone else. Say someone else you liked more..." He paused for a moment, "And it's like sometimes you forget they're there?"

The blond blinked.

Ken frowned, "And you know those situations where, you meet someone and then you spend the following twenty-four hours just thinking about them? Not because you just want to make a good impression, or think they might be worth taking out or something, but you had an argument or something with them and they said lots of things and you really didn't have anything to say in return because you were caught off guard and you didn't feel like the odds were in your favour because she forgot to tell you that her psychotic mentally ill older brother who smiles at me and makes me all forget what I was doing because I was wondering why the fuck he was smiling at me, not that it was a bad thing for him to smile at me because yesterday he was glaring at me and threatening to rip my face off which I admittedly am a bit disturbed by because normal people would just say they were going to have you raped by a biker gang or, wait, no a normal person would say they were going to 'make you live to regret it' or something equally as ominous and over-used but then I don't know any biker gangs and why is it that my two-thousand piece puzzle of the Tokyo Tower is missing the one piece at the very tip of the tower and that is the only one which makes me angry because damnit I worked on that thing for nearly five hours last night but I wouldn't have been working on the damn thing if I could get some sleep but my mind just keeps coming up with all of these really cool puns and really sarcastic remarks that I really should have said but didn't because I was just really sort of confused and annoyed and couldn't think of anything quite that cool at the time!"

Youji was silent for a moment, simply staring at the panting brunet, "...I sense something dramatic approaching."

"I want her brother." And his head hit the counter with another _thunk_.

Youji's eyes went wide.

There was silence.

"I honestly wasn't expecting that." The stunned look on the blonde's face emphasized the truth behind that statement.

Ken's arms were now wrapping around his head on the counter and his voice was muffled as he asked, "What were you expecting?"

Youji shrugged, "I didn't really know what you were talking about in the first place."

If Ken hadn't been so comfortable in his slumped-over position, he would have beat the other man with his seed catalogue.

**to be continued**

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**1** Sugizo & the Spank Your Juice - _Super Love_, the PV is brilliant and features Sugizo acting like a sort of ladies man, and all. Quite a catchy song, too; something I could imagine Kenken cringing "wtf?" at. It reminds me fondly of Youji.

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**Thank you...**

**Zeto** - Aya the matchmaker? But Ken's -her- boyfriend! And he's in high-demand, at that. Don't you think she'd be the -least- bit jealous? ;) He he! I'm happy you're enjoying the fic, though!

**Wan wingu no tenshi** - Yes, that song is absolutely wonderful! I'm happy you liked the chapter, too! I even giggled, myself, while I was writing the thing about the axe. It was somewhat goofy, I suppose.

**C.re.ax** - I'm so happy you're enjoying! Please continue to look for updates!

**Hellcat81 **- Yes, updating ever Friday, except for last time, when I updated on Saturday and today... when I'm updating on Saturday. Eh heh! I'm really not good about the schedule thing...Yes, I suppose Ran is being somewhat annoying, but he's concerned. So we have to love him anyway. :)

**M4r1-chan** - Yii! I'm so happy you liked it. :D It's so fun to write the funny scenes, I'm kind of sad that it started getting angsty in this chapter. I had to go back and edit twice just for the purpose of de-angstification! Oi. Please keep reading, though!

**na** - Don't like the RanKen pairing? Hate it? Oh, well. I don't know if you're really going to like this fic any further as here is where it really starts to diverge into a RanKen fic. I'm very honoured that you liked my writing enough to read anyway. :) Thank you for reading, and if you read on, I hope you enjoy!

**The Weaver Atropos** - Aa! Who are you? And what do you think you're doing reviewing my fic:P Just joking. :D I'm happy you liked that ending quote; Ran was going to say it to Ken, but then that revealed certain things for Kenken that weren't supposed to be out yet in the story. Happy you enjoyed the chapter! ;)

**Amethyst Blosson** - I'm so happy you enjoyed the fic. Ken and Aya are liars all over the place, it would seem, ne? Please continue to read!

**meiflower** - Happy you enjoyed:D

**keishin** - Yes, it would seem to be the HTML. When people make faces with the arrows/brackets, it just cuts off. Thank very much for your comments, though! So happy you enjoyed!

**Narijima** - Your parents are like Ran? Eek! That must be hard to deal with. I'm happy you enjoyed the chapter, and since you mentioned the allusions, I was relieved. I'm kind of trying to drop hints about different things but when no one was commenting on them, I kind of wondered if I had made some things not noticable enough. Those things will all be explained soon, at any rate. Thanks so much for reading:D

**Ayaren** - I'm happy you're enjoying the fic!

**Krysana** - Kenken getting backed up against the wall! Fanservice! One of these days I really do intend on writing a scene where Ran just accosts Kenken against a wall randomly and does all sorts of gorgeous things to him. The RanKen is literally within reach. Like, coughnextweekcough. :D Thanks so much for your comments!

**yaumi** - New plot? I'm honoured you think so! I try not to be too cliché, but I can never tell how well I'm doing about that. As for balance, I'm happy to hear it's pretty even. I worry it's starting to get a bit to angsty here, so I'm trying to lighten it up a little more. Thanks so much for your comments; they're most appreciated!

**Anendee** - Death by laughter? Hey, if you have to go, do so happily. ;) So happy you enjoyed!

**Chitoshiya no Tohma** - Thanks. :D

**aki midori** - Aw! I'm so very honoured by your reviewyou're really too sweet! I'm just happy to entertain and write something worth reading every once in a while, and if you enjoy my fics, then I'm happy. I hope you will enjoy this fic, and continue to read. RanKen is the holy pairing, and therefor it must prevail! It is a shame you don't write for RanKen, I haven't read your Slam Dunk stuff (I've heard of the manga vaguely, but other than that I know nothing about it, really), but RanKen could always use another lovely author. I shall have to read your fic as soon as I can. ;) Thank you so much for your lovely comments!

**Chubby-King-Chocobo** - I'm so happy you're enjoying this! As for sweet Aya, she goes anyway for me. She's virtually in a coma the entire time, so you can do a lot with her character. She's really somewhat spoiled by her brother (and assumably her parents) so she could be a rotten little villian, or just sweet. Character-bashing is always fun (flashback to the Relena-hater days of Gundam Wing) and so the worked for a semi-villian in SD, but sweet Aya's just more realistic and fun to write, in my opinion. Thanks for reading!

**Rapunzel4** - I'm happy you liked the axe, too! Yes, the thing about the three-years seperating Aya and Ken are supposed to be kind of key to what they wouldn't work out. Those are the years when you go out and establish yourself on your own, you don't have your parents around anymore, and with Ken's situation, he and Aya are just not on the same mental plane anymore. A difference in a maturity, I suppose it could be said. Thank you so much for your comments!

**HeatherR** - Hurrah! I'm so happy it made you laugh! And yes, there is some majour tension between Ran and his father, but I'll get into that soon (the next part, probably). I'm so happy you picked up on that, but I should've expected as much from someone like you. ;) It is in the writer's eye to be observant. The schedule bit is very difficult. Here I've updated twice on Saturday, yet never on Friday. I would change the day to Saturday, but I fear I'll start updating on Sunday. Thank you so much for your comments! Please continue to read:D

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_"She was somewhere else. Somewhere he had been three years ago, and it hurt to be reminded of that."_  
Reviews are appreciated. 


	4. The only one for me is you

I apologize before hand for the matter that I was feeling somewhat zany as I wrote this, and I fear it might be reflected by bad puns and mentionings to such things as trail mix and what have you. Please dismiss it as the ramblings of a walnut if you wish. I simply can't be arsed to understand myself.

And HURRAH, fair folk, for this part is dedicated to _The Weaver Atropos_! Happy Birthday:D

(25 March 2005)

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**Together**  
by _Seph Lorraine_

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"Do you make a habbit of traveling on rainy days?" 

Ken sighed, feeling gravity and the weight of his soaking clothes pulling down on his already slumped figure. He muttered quietly, "Fucking sadistic asshole; make me wait out in the rain for five minutes before answering the damn door and then insult"

"What's that? I can't hear you." The redhead asked, still standing in the doorway with his hand of the knob. It was already dark outside, almost nine in the evening. He hadn't been expecting any visitors at this time in the evening, and he was confused at the brunet's sudden appearance.

"I didn't say anything." He sighed, "I don't suppose Aya-chan would be here, would she?"

The man in the doorway paused a minute, taking a quick glance over the brunet's baggy and sopping appearance, "Actually no, she's gone to a friend's house. She'll probably be back soon, though." He couldn't really understand what compelled him to add, "Would you like to come in?"

Ken blinked.

Ran blinked.

Both were equally surprised by the offer.

The brunet seemed to be regarding him with cautious eyes, "Maybe..."

"She should be back soon; you could wait in the den." Ran could have kicked himself. What, was he _trying _to get his sister's future molestor to enter their house and have tea with him on the damn sofa?

"Sure." Brown eyes still regarded him strangely.

Both were silent, awkwardly for a minute, pondering the turn of events.

"Fine. Wait here while I get towels. You've already ruined our rug, but you shall not muss the carpet." He left the doorway, leaving it open a crack as he stalked towards the bathroom, completely expecting the other man to be gone by the time he returned.

Surprisingly, though, when he returned, the younger man was still there, quietly waiting just under the cover of the porch. His eyes were turned towards the street, watching as a few bikers enduring the weather and the wet sidewalks to make it home with their groceries. His hands were settled idly in his pockets, thumbs hooking over the cloth as he slouched from the weight of his clothes.

He opened the door again, holding out the towel as the other man snapped back to attention. He blinked at the towel, roughly regarding its purple and pink floral design (it was Aya's, of course), and took it reluctantly with only the slightest up-turn of his nose. Ran inwardly smirked. He had chosen the girliest one in the cabinet, as if that would teach the brunet to never except his hospitality again. He stepped aside quietly and gave the man room to enter as he dried off.

With his eyes still regarding the tall redhead strangely, the brunet entered quickly, removing his shoes and wiping at his dripping hair with the towel. He spoke very quietly as he passed, "Thank you."

"You'll need to go into bathroom just on the right and remove your clothes." Ran closed the door, turning the lock, which made an ominous _click_.

Ken froze, "What?"

"So I can put them in the dryer." The older man said brisquely, walking back into the den to where his book and a mug of tea set in waiting for him.

With great unease, Ken stepped quickly into the bathroom and shut the door. Well, this was certainly unexpected. He took his time, gently peeling off layer after layer of wet clothing that seemed to suction itself to his skin in indignant refusal to bear his skin. It seemed that both Ken and Ken's clothes were a bit disturbed by the idea of being naked, or even just nearly so, in the redhead's presence. Which was understandable, considering as how the brunet had even admitted to liking him.

And not he hadn't meant it platonically by any means.

On that matter, Ken wasn't even sure he cared for the redhead's personality at all really. His opinion had yet to be swayed from the idea the Fujimiya Ran was mentally unwell. Though, he _had_ let him in out of the rain...

And then locked the door and forced him to strip naked with only a flowery towel for protection.

Well, he didn't necessarily force him to do that, he was just going to dry his clothes for him.

After ringing out most of the water into the sink and rolling his eyes at his own stupid antics, he tied the towel firmly around his thin, boxer-clad waist and strode out into the hallway with his bundle of wet clothes in his arms.

In the den Ran had been unable to comprehend a word he had read since he had dismissed himself from the now undressing young man. What was he thinking, inviting that man into their house? And telling him to undress? Weren't those two things he _didn't_ want happening with that man in this house? He still had his sister's virtue to protect, and even if she wasn't there at the moment, the principle still applied.

Of course, he wouldn't really mind seeing the other man's actual frame, for once. He had only seen him dressed like a slob as of yet or hidden behind a counter-top at the flower-shop, it would be interesting to know if he actually had a body under the tent of garmets he seemed to drape about himself. His momentary glance at the other man's toned stomach had suggested there was more the Hidaka than he displayed, yet he was curious as to whether Ken was a comfort-fiend, self-conscience, or just sloppy.

"What shall I do with these?" The brunet stood in the doorway of the den with his bundle of wet clothes held loosely at his abdomen, unmindful of his other-wise naked appearance. It most certainly wasn't a self-confidence issue.

Hiding the appreciative flicker of his eyes at the otherman's well-sculped chest, Ran set his book down and stood. He motioned for the other man to follow him into the laundry room and pointed to the white, box-like machine on the left, "Just toss it in and set the timer. Press the yellow button when you've done that."

Ken nodded, following instructions and quirking an eyebrow when the machine began to make the sounds of tossing his clothes about. He had never known anyone wealthy enough to have one of these installed in their home. He just had to walk to the mat every week, if he wanted clean clothes. He rolled his eyes and moved out of the room, which exited into a small kitchen that was brightly lit by several rows of white tracker-lighting; the Fujimiya's were obviously a prestigious family.

He paused to wonder if it made the Fujimiya's mother feel like the Iron Chef (tm) to cook under a spotlight. He hadn't realised he had spoken this outloud until he noticed the redhead giving him an incredulous look, a substantial difference from his usual very solemn, expressionless appearance. He could have laughed at that, but he resisted.

"She doesn't have time to cook. Either Aya-chan cooks or everyone eats take-out." Ran still looked somewhat puzzled, as to why Ken had asked and why he was answering, but he shook it off quickly, "Would you like some tea?"

Ken perked and nodded, "That would be nice."

Back in the den a few minutes later, Ken sat silently on the opposite end of the couch from the reading redhead, quietly burning his tongue in peace (his tea was quite hot). As he sat, neither of the room's occupants speaking, he began to get the feeling that he was being watched. Or not necessarily that he himself was being watched, but different parts of him interchangeably.

Was it possible to feel like someone was staring particularly at your chest? He had a feeling that if a girl were nearby, she could probably answer that question for him.

He glanced over at the redhead, and noticed that the other man was indeed staring at him, yet not at his chest now, "Is there a problem?"

Ran shrugged, moving his eyes from where they had been scanning the slender curve of the other man's neck to his suddenly very uninteresting book.

Ken watched the redhead for a moment longer, then sighed and leaned back against the couch, "So," It seemed like the only thing to do was try to make conversation, "I hear you go to Tokyo U."

"Hn." The redhead trained his gaze nbot to turn to the voice's speaker and nodded. After a moment he flipped a page in his book, trying to pretend like he wasn't being incredibly distracted by the other man's very obvious, very attractive, very nearly naked presence.

"I have a friend who goes there..." Ken paused, "He doesn't ever really seem to go to class or anything, though, so sometimes it doesn't seem believeable. I've never seen him do an ounce of work in the five years I've known him." He remembered Youji's complaint at simply carrying a few boxes to the curb of the shop the day before.

"Hn. I know people like that." He spoke shortly, trying half-heartedly to figure out when the main character in his book had decided to marry his best friend's sister.

"You like it there?" The brunet was now staring blankly at a large ink-painting on rice-paper of a Geisha and her hand-maidens on the opposite wall.

"Hn."

"Is it tough?"

"Hn." Ran was now frantically flipping through the last few pages trying to figure out where he had stopped paying attention, while he vaguely realised he didn't even care.

"Hn?"

"Hn."

"Hn hn hnnn?" The brunet questioned with a smirk.

"HnWhat?" Violet eyes looked up and blinked at him.

The brunet simply looked amused and shook his head, "Nevermind."

Ran didn't move his gaze. Giving up on the novel, he closed the book rather suddenly and focused his attentions completely upon the man to his right, "Why are you looking for Aya-chan, anyway?"

Ken blinked. This was not a good conversation to start. How do you tell your girlfriend's frighteningly over-protective older brother that you're about to break her heart and remain unscathed? Why, if he's an invalid, of course! Yet Ran was anything but an invalid, perhaps a bit unhinged, but not an invalid. If he were to tell the redhead now that he was here to break-up with his precious imouto, he felt certain he would find himself in the cold, rainy street, with several broken limbs, a detatched appendage of incredibly necessity to every man of the green earth, and his face mysteriously not on his head. Unpleasant.

He shrugged, "To see her? Talk? You know. Usual stuff."

"At this time of the evening?" The eyes that held him narrowed the slightest bit.

"Yea?"

Ken nodded, his eye twitching at the violet-eyed man's intense gaze.

Ran nodded, observing quietly.

More silence.

Ran was beginning to notice a pattern in the other man. He didn't seem necessarily intimidated by him as much as he was perhaps just a bit disturbed, "I suppose you think I'm strange."

"Honestly?" Brown eyes peered at him in a sideways glance, almost a devious look.

"Honestly."

"I think you're a fucking psychopath." Ken was certainly one for giving it straight.

The redhead was unable to stop himself before he let out a low laugh, he quickly turned away fighting the strange insistance of the corners of his lips on smiling. He should have been appalled, or at least heavily insulted, but he felt more amused than anything. He had always given off a demeanor that naturally kept people in-line when they were around him (except for his roommate, but even _he_ hadn't dared to call him such); no one ever seemed willing to risk a stab at him.

The brunet quirked an eyebrow, he hadn't really been expected the low, smooth sounding laugh as a response.

"You think I'm psychotic despite the fact that I let you in out of the rain and offered to dry your clothes while you wait on my imouto?" Ran turned his intense gaze back to the man at the other end of the couch.

"I didn't say you were necessarily cruel; though, I am a bit weary after seeing your intentions of making me wear a flowery towel while I wait, and then eyeing my chest like you were a minute ago." A pointed glare at the older man's direction, yet a teasing smirk danced on his lips.

"I was doing no such thing." The redhead spoke flatly and turned to stare at the Geisha portrait across the room; he hadn't known he was being so obvious about it.

"Don't even bother to deny it." The brunet was still smirking.

"I was wondering what you do to stay fit." Ran muttered, flipping through pages without any real focus.

"Sure, you were." Ken looked smug, his brown eyes seeming the glint mischeviously beneath a curtain of disheveled brown hair.

The violet-eyed man looked back up intently, "What you are implying, Hidaka-san?"

"Was I implying something?" Ken looked off, staring at various aspects of the room in idle amusement, his gaze lingered on a katana sheathed and mounted on the far wall.

"You..." Any words that the redhead could have said in reply seemed to dye. He was flirting. The thought stilled him before it seemed to morph behind his very eyes **1**; he was flirting with Aya's boyfriend. Then as quickly, as the panic had come, it settled: He was flirting with a very attractive mostly-naked man on the couch in his father's house.

Nothing had ever felt so justifying.

He turned back to the other man with a smirk of his own, "You imply many things, Hidaka-san. I only wonder if you're aware of all of them."

No one heard the door shutting quietly in the foyer.

At the other end of the couch, the younger man turned to face him, the motion causing the split in the folds of the towel to reveal a few more inches of the smoothly tanned skin of Ken's thigh up to the riding hem of his green boxers. This was most likely unintentional. Most likely. Ran could barely help but wonder if it covered his entire body; at any rate, his gaze lingered noticeably before locking again on the other man's staring face.

"I should be aware. I'm the one implying them, aren't I?" Brown eye's stared at him boldly, serious despite their teasing glint.

The redhead felt a shiver like cold fingers creep down his spine and reminded himself forcefully that the other man was simply flirting and _not_ forwardly propositioning him.

At that moment Mr. Fujimiya entered the room from the foyer, his suitcase dangling lifelessly in one hand. He stilled as his casual glance at the couch revealed an interesting sight. His face was as emotionless and stonelike as Ran's had ever been, only colder and hardened with age. His dark eyes locked instantly on the hardly-clothed figure to his left and his suddenly stoic son, whose violet eyes were narrowed at him in an intense glare at himself. He did not miss the defiant edge that glare held.

Briefly analyzing the situation, Mr. Fujimiya scowled darkly at his son and growled lowly, "Not in my house."

Ran's glare only intensified.

The room temperature seemed to grow colder.

"You will not do this in my house."

Aside from Ken, who was decidedly ill at ease, Ran was almost frightening in his stoicism. His glare never left the older man's eyes, and he made no instance to move or reply.

Without another word or glance, Mr. Fujimiya turned and continued his track through the room, his fist trembling furiously around his suitcase handle. He exited into the kitchen and continued muttering angrily as his son's frigid glare followed his retreating form, "Not in my house. Not in my house."

The den was silent for a moment, as it's two occupants sat in silence. It was only after a mild catatonic spell that Ken realised the dryer was sounding from the laundry room. Yet, he found himself stuck between asking what was going on with the strange old business man who had just growled at him and whether he should go get his clothes. He had a feeling his stony companion probably wouldn't answer the first, "The dryer's gone off. Should I go get my"

"In a minute." The redhead cut him off shortly.

They sat again in silence, Ran's being seemed to close in upon itself once more inside the shell of a scowl. Ken wondered silently what they were waiting for, but it became apparent as they heard Mr. Fujimiya exit the kitchen, stomp down the hallway, and ascend the stairs with furied footsteps.

When the ceiling above them echoed with the sound of the man's footsteps, Ran stood, scowl still in place, "Let's go get your clothes."

Ken nodded silently, deciding not to ask, but regarding the redhead before him with an soft glance. Thinking back on their little verbal game in the den a few minutes earlier, he found himself wondering how much of himself the other man was really hiding and the reason he was doing so. For the small amount of time they'd been alone, he had seen a dramatic change in the other man; one that made him think maybe Ran wasn't quite as mad as he had come across. Perhaps he was merely the victim of tragic circumstance.

The redhead cut off the machine quickly and opened the small round door to pull out a warm, mangled wad of clothes. He dropped them breezily into the other man's arms before turning and shutting the door again, "You can change in the bathroom or right there if you want, doesn't matter to me." And he excused himself from the small space and into the den once more.

Slowed by his thoughts, Ken simply dropped the towel and changed where he was. It wasn't as if he were completely naked anyway. He hung the towel carefully on a rack beside the machine when he was through and re-entered then den with quiet footsteps.

Ran looked up when he re-entered, closing the book which he had picked up again, despite basically giving up the idea of actually reading it, "I suppose it would probably be best for you to leave. Aya-chan may be later than I thought."

Ken stood quietly and nodded, he felt almost compelled to approach the now standing readhead and do something he would probably regret, but he simply bit his lip and nodded again. Curse his stubborn, but somewhat sympathetic, nature. He was not very good at restraining his impulses, like the focus of his attentions, but he made himself. It could only end badly, otherwise. He knew he hated receiving sympathy, and he wasn't about to make himself some sort of plague by dealing it to those who would most-likely be un-happily receiving of it.

They trailed to the door like trail mix, which made no sense but they somehow worked themselves out, and Ken put on his shoes quietly as the redhead put the key into the lock. They both paused as the key began to turn, their thoughts the same. Ran turned to make sure the other man wasn't about to have another spaz attack or anything. He was relieved to find the man just frowning bitterly and muttering about something shiny or whatnot. **2**

He opened the door, allowing the man out onto the small porch-area, where they both observed the rain falling in sheets before them.

Ken grinned and stepped out into it without another thought, shuddered as the cold water splashed against his warm, dry skin. After only a moment he was soaking wet, and he stepped down from the small step onto the small concrete path through the Fujimiyas' miniscule yard. He turned around for a moment and smiled, "You know, I just realised the irony in waiting all that time for my clothes to dry, only to get wet again."

Ran sighed lightly; how true.

"Good bye." The brunet spoke quietly and made his way out into the rain, to the curb where he had left his bike.

Not going to be caught staring after the other man again, Ran hastily re-entered the doorway and reached for the key. He frowned, however, noticing another set of keys sitting next to them; he had never seen them before, therefore he assumed they must be Ken's. Grabbing the ring, he stepped back out onto the porch, looking for the other man. Stopping at the very edge of the small protected area, he felt as small droplets of water splashed from their continuous discourse onto his simple black shirt and slacks. He peered through the dismal view to see the brunet was walking back in his direction already, undoubtedly in search of the keys he had mindlessly left behind. As he came closer, it became apparent that the brunet had lifted his gaze to peer straight into his own, and whether he had wanted to or not, he found he could not look away.

He held out the keys silently, feeling the rain draping around his arm like a curtain and soaking his sleeve, making the key-ring slippery between his usually nimble fingers. This was acknowledged as the brunet also reach forward; however he did not grab the keys.

Ran felt himself suddenly doused in water as he was pulled into the rain, flush against a hard, lithe body. The gaze never even shifted, and as the brunet drew even closer, Ran suddenly knew what was coming. His lips parted on their own, as if in anticipation for what he had been unknowingly waiting for all evening. The rain seemed to fall harder around them, and it seemed everything else was temporarily invisible, blurred by the onslaught of falling water.

Ken's lips were soft as the pressed against his, but they stayed for hardly three seconds before he drew back to glance at his almost lost, unsure expression. Then he leaned forward and kissed him again, and this time he did not pull back. It was warm; whereas the rain had felt chill and harsh against his skin in the first seconds he was pulled from his protection, it now seemed to fall around him and embrace him with fluid motion. Ran felt himself press closer as if by instinct, sinking deeper into the heat that seemed to be coursing through him.

Ken hadn't intended it to be quite like it was. He had been aiming at something far more teasing; possibly only to see the redhead give him that stunned look again. Leave him with questions. What he received was more than the brief exhileration of exitement he had been searching for. It was as if the wind had taken it's force from his very lungs and left him breathless and wanting for something that seemed so easy to fly away.

Somehow, everything seemed so strangely beautiful, in it's own unintelligible, maddening way.

Finally he drew back to breathe, backing up and feeling Ran's arms, which had somehow found their way around his waist, fall away. He pried the keys gently from a listless hand and backed away. He watched the redhead for a second longer, both simply regarding each other in silence, before he turned and left.

Again, Ran stood as if in a trance in the yard, watching as the bike and it's rider rode off down the street, kicking up water with slowly increasing speed.

He had never felt so fond of rain until that moment.

Across the street, Aya peered through the window of a car, parked at the curb. The two other occupants in the car were also looking. Beside her, she felt her friend Sakura tug at her sleeve and speak in a quiet, comforting tone, "Maybe you'd like to spend the night at oiur apartment, instead?"

From the driver's seat up front, Sakura's older sister, Yuriko gave a sympathetic glance, "I'm sure 'kaa-san wouldn't mind."

Aya remained frozen, simply staring at the spot where her boyfriend had just kissed her brother. Not just kissed him, but _kissed _him. And now he stood there, red hair wet and dripping into his eyes, black clothes soaking him to the skin, and it was only March, looking for all like he didn't know who he was or where. Part of her wanted to get out of the car and urge him inside out of the weather, while another part wanted to get out of the car and yell at him.

How dare he. How dare _they_...

Either way she wanted to get out of the car and do something, but Sakura's gentle tugging at her sleeve and Yuriko's calm and sympathetic eyes stopped that notion. She needed to be somewhere else right now. Somewhere her brother was not, and Ken was not. Somewhere she could comfortably curl up against a pillow and cry until the rain took over for her failure at bearing more tears.

"Ok..." She nodded quietly, still unable to move her dark eyes from her brother, still standing lifelessly in the yard.

Sakura sneezed on Aya's shoulder.

"Ew." The dark-haired girl frowned.

**to be continued**

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**A/N:** Feel free to act like the last two lines aren't even there, if you like. Things were simply to serious/mushy for me and I just had to give someone some germs or something. For my own sanity, really. 

**1** I laughed at that for a long time. Longer than was necessary. Necessary being at all.

**2** The "something shiny" would be Stephen King's film "The Shining". Please don't look at me like that.

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**Thank you...**

**mistskeeper** (from last chapter) - I'm so happy you're enjoying! Somewhat Damaged is probably discontinued, sorry. I've really lost my inspiration for it, and everything I had written was on a floppy disc, which I no-longer have a drive for. I hope you continue to read and enjoy this piece, though!

**orangejuicehugger** - I am unbelievably amused at your name. Threatening people creatively just seems like something at which Ran would excel. Thanks!

**kyria valkyrie** - Update fast? Moi? I don't think so, I'm doing better by the once-a-week thing, but this is really the first time that's happened. Kenken is so dramatic, ne? Face-faulting over it and all.

**yaumi **- Wondering how I'm going to pair them up, eh? Well, I really think they'll do that themselves. ;)

**aki midori** - As for a start of action, I should think this chapter is really the start. Hope it made you squeal or cheer or something equally fan-girly. Because that's what fan-girls should do when Ran and Ken hook up! Hurrah:D

**Rie **- Isn't Sugi adorable in that PV? It just makes me smile thinking about it! He's even got the kind of semi-mid-length blond hair. xx; I die. And yes, Kenken's fairly long-winded about the whole "I like Ran" thing, ne?

**M4r1-ch4n** - Ken acting like Sugi in the Super Love PV? Mwa ha! I've totally never even thought about that! Someone badly needs to write Sugi-like Ken: the ladies man. Youji and Ken's conversations are just mindless banter; one day a bunch of witty people should just get together and be witty together, in my opinion. Happy you enjoyed that, though. The de-angstification is kind of rough right now, especially at the end of this chapter. Eek, maybe it'll just go away soon...

**Suke-san -** Meh, I've done one-dimensional plot-fodder Aya before, but it was only to advance the story line. I mean, when you've used all the regular characters up and you still don't have a villan? It's always the comatose girl who gets the job. As for OTT big-brother Ran, that was product of me ort of going crazy while I wrote; it's like a natural response that when I start getting irritated or bored with what I'm writing I insert something ridiculous. It happens often, but it's the only thing that keeps me from stopping. Sorry about that. Hurrah! for realism. I was hoping it would sound realistic, I'm glad it came out that way. I really appreciate the comments and criticism, thank you so much!

**HeatherR **- Aha! I'm so happy you enjoyed Kenken's rant! He just seems to have so much to say suddenly. Oo; (hates how this site won't support little face-things anymore) I'm often like that, too. I finish the editing and everything the day I post so that I can post it immediately, otherwise I'll go mad. When I write one-shots I usually write them on the day they're posted, and the first part of this was posted on the same day I wrote it. Eh heh!

**Hellcat81** - Well, I certainly aided your wish for more RanxKen interaction. As for longer chapters, I just write them as they are outlined in my notebook, and there's really no way to extend it without messing with the story. I've tried (glares at her other fics). Happy RanxKen-ness!

**Kiritalia **- The simplicity? Eek! Sorry if it seems like it just complicated to you; it'll even itself back out rather quickly, you'll see. Nothing dark and creepy about this fic though, despite what certain things may imply. Thanks!

**Uber-Meister** - The Ken/Aya-ness is originally what made me wonder if anyone would even bother reading this; your nervousness is fully understood. RanxKen is perfection! Don't worry about Aya-chan. She's no weakling. She could probably even kick Ran's ass if she felt so inclined. (sniggers wickedly) Always happy to see a new reader; please keep reading!

**The Weaver Atropos** - Hurrah! RanKen-ness at last! And yes, Ken's past love affair, what a mystery, eh? (rolls eyes) But you'll never guess about Ran! Mwa ha! I can't for the part where I explain that. Especially hope you liked this chapter:P

**keishin** - Overused? I suppose... Oh well, I'm happy you liked it. As for the band name, it's one of those things that no-one ever seems to want to out-right explain, I have a pretty good idea that I get it, but I don't really want to get it wrong. So all I can say is, maybe a little research in Roger's Profanisaurus does a person good? (sweatdrop)

**meiflower **- He he! Youji's reactions seems to be quite a popular one. I'd probably do it too. Or scream at the injustice of missing puzzle pieces. Damn irritating, that is.

**Zeto** - Sure, Aya the yaoi fan-girl would be plausible, but then it'd all be too easy! Where's the drama? I'll make her squeal at the two of them in another chapter just for you, ok?

(person with **two little up-arrows** for name) - Sorry your name wouldn't show up here.Eek, yes, the AyaKen is gone now. :) It's pretty safe to say.I hope this chapter was good for "much faster ranken developements". :D

**Krysana** - Ken SHALL know if Ran's a natural redhead by the time the fic is over. Or so I am planning on it. Maybe some citrus, but not a lemon (points at the stupid NC-17 policy and her inability to write one). And I plan on writing Ran accosting poor Kenken in a hallway sometime soon, not in this fic, but it will happen. :P Wai! So happy you like my Ken, because I adore yours!

**Narijima** - I'm happy you think they're all in character. That's the one thing I worry about most when I write fanfiction. It's nice to have an affirmation that I'm not butchering the characters. xx;

**Anendee** - Youji's mysterious date for Ken wasn't mentioned, she wasn't really important. "Poor Sexy Ken"? That made me laugh. What a way to put it!

And everyone else reviewed! I'm grateful for every one of them!

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_"Let's just be friends and do body shots, ok?"_  
Reviews are appreciated. 


	5. And you for me

I had to rewrite the ending several times, but I am finally pleased (I know, it took long enough)! It would have gotten more graphic, but I figured that my poor mind (which just sort of freezes at the idea of writing a lemon) had had enough getting just the beginning part right. Lazy sod, I know, I know, and it is now Thursday. I'm not entirely happy with this. Will be updating late again this week, too.

This part written to the lovely sounds of _Harusaki Sentimental_ by Plastic Tree. Good song. Go listen. Now.

(7 April 2005)

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**Together**  
by _Seph Lorraine_

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The silence of the room was penetrated quite suddenly by the door bursting open, and smashing into the wall behind it. A bright light shone behind the sillhouetted figure in the doorway, and the room was cast in a dull glow from the light without.

"What's the meaning of all this sexiness?" The voice demanded with a roar.

"Hello, Kudou." Ran rolled his eyes and went back to his reading, huddled by the small light by his bed.

"You!" The tall blond entered dramatically and pointed at his roommate accusingly, "You've had girls over! I can smell it all over the place! You ridiculous little man-whore!"

Ran paid him little mind, having grown quite familiar with Youji's antics after a year, "And what a shame, you missed them all."

"And the men?" Youji wiggled his eyebrows, shutting the door (after pulling it from the cracked plaster of the wall behind him and resetting it on the hinges, albeit crookedly). He pranced over to his bed with a grace only he possessed and flopped onto the bouncy mattress to stare at the man across from him.

"Missed them, too." The redhead set the book down. His roommate was always very demanding of the attention he claimed to be due himself. He reluctantly humoured the man, since he was obviously dellusional.

Green eyes stared at him waiting for something else, after a moment of seeing the other man was not going to talk he sighed, "Don't tell me you shut yourself up in the house reading and listening to that nonsense you always listen to for the entire weekend!"

"Mozart is not nonsense, you uncultured twit."

"But Gackt is."

The redhead glared half-heartedly.

Youji rolled his eyes, "So you sat around with your sister, read your books, and listened to your obviously-not-nonsensical-oh-my-Gackt-what-was-I-thinking piano ballads while the world passed you dismissively by. Anything else happen? Anything note-worthy?"

Violet eyes moved away instantly, searching the wall for some small nailhead he could stare at until he could remove the evening before from his mind. He had only left his home that morning to return to the dorms, but since the evening before when he had watched Ken ride away from their small house on his motorcycle, his thoughts had hardly been without the other man.

His mind was a mess, really. Of course there were the obvious questions that arose from such a situation: Why did he kiss me? Did I really want him to kiss me? Does this mean we're somehow involved now? Am I ever even going to see him again? Do I want to see him again? Finally, after the state of confusion seemed to settle itself, he simply decided he was being stupid and dismissed them all, opting to think of other things. Like Aya-chan. Which, of course, only opted to make him feel guilty.

Aya hadn't come home that evening, and she hadn't been home in the morning when Ran knocked on her door to say goodbye before catching his train back across the expansive city to the university. She hadn't called, either, which worried him a bit. Most disturbing, however, was he hadn't even noticed she hadn't come home until well after midnight when he lay awake in his bed staring at a street lamp shining outside through his window. He was a horrible brother. He had kissed her boyfriend (even if he hadn't initiated it, he had responded willingly), and he had forgotten about her.

Part of him really wanted to find her and tell her what happened and apologise deeply, while part of him really wanted to look Ken up in a public directory and demand more from the brunet than some simple, lousy kiss in the rain. Schizophrenia must have been genetic amoung the Fujimiya children. Or something.

Of course that kiss had hardly been lousy.

Ran was bitten by angst, suddenly. Yes, he just wanted to sit alone in a dark room with some tea, a rainstorm outside, a scowl, and none of Youji's pesky, bothering questions. He would not look at the other man, he determined. He would just stare at the nail a few centimetres above his roommate's head and contemplate what sort of picture or poster had been held up by it before.

This did not go unnoticed by the room's other occupant.

"Well?" He looked expectant.

"Well, what?"

"Tell me what happened. It's obviously you're concealing something."

"Nothing happened."

"Oh come, now. Share the love, Ran."

"No."

"Ugh! You know the No Privacy Act of first semester hasn't yet been expired or ammended to end it's validation! You must tell me what interesting thing happened so that you might possibly have a chance at not dying young, lonely, and bitter!"

Ran frowned, "I took Aya out to eat at a cafe. And I got to talk to my okaasan for the first time in maybe two months."

Youji blinked, "That's _it_?"

The redhead huffed and reached for a notebook in his bag and a pen to work on his literary analysis assignment, "Yea, got a problem?"

"Yes, I have a problem with it! You have no life! You read, you talk to your sister, and you study! The only time you'll talk to anyone is when you're drunk, which has happened all of thrice and only by an over-exertion of my own efforts!" The blond seemed incredulous, "I don't see how you live in this little shell of yours. Doesn't it get cramped? Start to smell weird after a while?"

"I keep my shell quite clean, thank you." He wondered once again what it was that made him put up with the other man's constant nagging about his hermitness.

Youji ignored the comment and continued, "I mean, if I were to find you a nice guy to set you up with, you'd turn me down."

Ran mentally scalped himself for being drunk enough to reveal that little secret to his roommate first semester. It wasn't that he cared what others thought of him or his sexual preferences, as it was that he simply didn't want them thinking at all about him or his private life. Of course, the Kudou had known all along, being strangely observant (after all, he had to have _some_ skill to get into such a prestigious school), and had even thought it rather complimentary to the redhead's character. Youji, himself, had experienced many male partners in his circus of flirting and partying with both sexes. The man knew no limits.

"If you were to meet a nice guy, you'd probably just scare him away before you could start anything."

Vaguely he remembered Ken's blatant words, "_I think you're a fucking psychopath."_ He hadn't seemed afraid then.

"Who?" Youji had stopped his tirade to a grinding halt and was staring at the man on the opposite side of the room.

Ran frowned, he didn't know when his tongue had simply began to follow the trails of his mind, "Just a guy."

Green eyes gleamed as his attentive ears perked up, "Do you know all the shitty romance stories that begin like that? Just a guy?" He lifted his hands in exaggeration as he recited, mindlessly, "'Kari, who was that talking to you?', 'Oh, no one, Yokko. It was just a guy!' And then they do something crazy like fall in love and win a war or become the popular kids at school or something." Youji sniggered to himself.

Sighing the redhead rolled his eyes, "My sister's boyfriend."

"Oh." The blond frowned, "Well, that's understandable. If _I_ were your sister's boyfriend, I would--"

"Don't even go there."

"--probably be inclined to agree."

Ran shook the comment off with a glare before speaking quietly again, "He called me a psychopath."

Youji began to laugh but was cut off sharply as the thought hit him; he had been talking about something quite similar to this with Ken a few days ago. A light seemed to flicker in his teasing green eyes, as he found himself suddenly inspired. Wouldn't it just be Hawaiian shirt day in hell if Ran was talking about Ken right now? His curiosity was piqued. It could never be that Ran was the psychotic older-brother his younger friend had admitted to wanting in the shop a few days ago. No way. Tokyo was too large, to diverse, and far to over-populated for this situation to be the same.

But then again, the shop where Ken worked was in the same district as the Fujimiya's house, and only a few blocks away, now that he thought about it.

Youji smirked, "So, he called you that to your face, did he?"

"He did." The redhead looked vaguely amused at the memory, but quickly narrowed his gaze and continued searching for his missing pen.

That sure sounded like Ken. Youji sighed, "Tactless."

"Excuse me?" A crimson eybrow quirked.

"Nothing. Just thinking." Youji grinned even wider. "So, you met your sister's boyfriend? What was that like? Have you recently helped him to get into a nice morgue somewhere, or is he still out there wondering?"

Ran didn't even seem to have heard the joke, he simply hesitated and began fumbling with the things in his bag (where was that bleeding pen?), "Can we just talk about something else?"

"Why? I'm interested in hearing about how you dismembered him of his various appendages and threw him into the bay." Sniggering from the resident playboy.

"I did no such thing." The younger man sighed, "We just talked... and stuff."

What was that? "And _stuff_? Stuff as in serious maiming? or stuff as in hot kinky sex?"

The violet eyed man glared half-heartedly, "I would _not_ have sex with my sister's boyfriend."

Youji's grin doubled, thoroughly unconvinced, "But you would... do other 'stuff'?"

Ran was about to ask the other man what he was insinuating when a sudden memory of the night before seemed to hit him between the eyes. They had had this discussion on the couch in his house. Ken had been half naked, both had been flirting. There had been much "insinuated" then. He remained silent, instead.

"You _like_ him, don't you?"

The redhead dropped the bag, his scowl growing as he kicked the notebook away and simply lay down to look at the ceiling, "Do you really think I'd _like_ him, Kudou? He's dating my _sister_." His tone was low.

"Stranger things have happened." Now was the time to invisibly identify the situation. Were Ran and Ken complaining about each other, or was this a meer coincidence? "Come to think of it, recently, my friend was telling me about how he met the older brother of a girl he's dating. At first, I was thinking about telling him to run on her, but he ended up coming to the conclusion that he actually liked the brother better than the sister."

Yea, right. Ran was sitting in an instant, his violet-eyed gaze piercing through the tall, lanky man before him, "What are you saying?"

Youji's smirk was teasing and mischevious as he pulled himself up from the bed, "All I'm saying is that the world is a crazy place, and you let too many things pass you by."

The redhead obviously didn't understand.

"Hey, you should come with me and Schu, tomorrow! We're going out to a club."

Laying back against his pillow once more, violet eyes closed. He thought the other man had finally given up on dragging him out dancing with him and his many conquests, but it seemed he had been wrong, "No, thank you. I need to work on--"

"Meh, forget that, Ran. You're coming out with us. And you're going to have fun, and maybe get a bit smashed. And you will enjoy it thoroughly."

"No, I--"

"Yes, you will."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No, stop that."

"Yes, you stop."

"No, I'm not going."

"Oh, but yes, Ran. You are!" And before he could say another thing, the blond had opened the door and waltzed from the room with all the flair of a bottle rocket. A very sexy bottle rocket. He left Ran to mope about and wish for an earthquake to trap him in the rubble of his filthy dorm room to die.

Out in the hallway Youji frowned and leaned against the wall, pulling out his mobile phone and selecting a familiar number with practised ease. He still wasn't sure if Ken was the guy Ran was talking about, but he was hoping, because he was about to take a big chance. He had only been wrong about a pairing once before and the reprecussions had been painful; he really hoped that his instinct was right this time.

And he figured, if anything, at least they would have something in common to talk about all evening.

"Moshi moshi." A husky, sleep-garbled voice answered the other end of the line.

"Kenken." He smiled calmly, "Don't tell me I woke you up at four in the afternoon."

"You didn't wake me up at four in the afternoon." The voice sighed, pausing for a yawn, "You woke me up at four twenty-eight in the afternoon."

Youji rolled his eyes at the sarcasm, "Look, I need you to sourge yourself of all the flower-shit you're usually so mangled in and put on some nice, decently attractive clothes by tomorrow evening around seven. I'm telling you now so you can get a head start. I understand it might take a while."

"What?" Ken sounded bleary, "Why? What's happening?"

"We're going clubbing."

The other end of the line was silent.

"You, me, and Schuldig, we're all going out to a club, and we're going to dance, and get drunk, and have a wild orgy."

"You need four people for an orgy, Yotan."

"Oh, I'm sure someone else will show up."

"You know there's no way I'm going clubbing with you or having an orgy (joke or no) with your people."

"My people? You make us sound like gaijin, Kenken. Or aliens."

"And you call Schuldig and that Farf-guy Japanese, do you?"

Youji laughed outright at that and started back down the hall toward the commons.

"No," Ken's voice spoke assuredly, "That's not what I meant; I meant your crowd. You and your group, always going clubbing and participating in other such lewd activities with one another."

"Lewd activities? All of us? I'll have you know I'm quite monogamous."

"Wait, did you just mention something about an orgy...?" The brunet's voice question in mock thoughtfulness, "Oh no, that couldn't be. The Ever Moral and Monogamous Kudou Youji would _never_ even entertain such a thought! What could I have been thinking?"

Youji cut in, still laughing as he passed many strange-staring passers by on the stair-well, "You're coming, and don't even try to get out of it, because it's final. Plans are already made."

"Really? Since when?"

"Since now. Meet us downtown at the Crater, right? Wait for us outside or we'll never see you."

Ken muttered but gave in. He didn't really have any plans for that evening anyway, and the blond hadn't mentioned having some random girl he wanted him to meet. Of course, that meant there probably was some unfortunate soul coming whom he would be forced to sit and make trivial chat with as Schuldig and Youji all but molested each other and their numerous dance partners on the dance floor, and Youji just really didn't want to put up with explaining it to him.

"Fine. Sure, I'll see you there."

"Alright, then. We'll be expecting you."

"Matta ne." Ken said tiredly, and hung up, determined to get some more sleep before heading out to the park for soccer practice with the kids. Sometimes the brunet really damned his good-side. He hadn't gotten much sleep at all the night before, after that... moment. And he had the strangest feeling that a cup of tea was not going to give him enough energy.

He had been almost shocked with what he had done by the time he had reached his small apartment from the Fujimiya house the evening before. The remainder of the tingling he felt on his lips hadn't been enough for him to know whether he was glad he would probably never see the older Fujimiya again, or not. If anything he was angry; somehow it seemed like he always knew how to screw up a situation beyond understanding.

It had been a trip solely ventured for the purpose of making a clean break with Aya-chan. He had meant to call things off and find a way to tell the girl she was just to young. He hadn't really been intending to do what he had done until he began to really watch the redhead, and saw to his surprise, the other man watching him just as guiltily.

Impulse and not-fully thought through actions had again supplied him with another crisis on his conscience. He had kissed the man he had admittedly wanted to kiss since he had met him, yet at the same time, the situation still seemed very delicate. And he still hadn't broken up with Aya-chan.

Maybe when he saw her next, and told her quietly and sympathetically that they couldn't continue their little courtship, he could simply omitt the part when he realised he had wanted her brother more than her, and the part about the kiss. And the part where he had missed quite a bit of sleep on account of straying thoughts about said man. If luck were on his side Ran would maybe feel to guilty to say anything either, and the girl would never even know what had mysteriously been happening behind her back. Everything could go back to how it was before when he didn't know her or her brother. It wasn't an awful idea.

Just an empty one.

He was quite rested, though admittedly not in the best of all moods, when he got off the train and walked the lively two blocks to the Crater where he was to wait for Youji and his current boy-toy. He shook his head at that thought and wondered vaguely how long it would last. He was surprised that the two were actually going on four months currently. It was unlike Youji, or Schuldig for that matter, to stick with anyone for a recognisable length of time, but the two seemed to be doing as fine as ever whenever he saw them.

Ken sighed and leaned against a street-sign post just outside of the rather sizeable club. It was a lively place, with many people milling about and coming in and out every minute. Of course, Youji knew this, being why he had been told to wait for the other man outside where he was actually visible.

It was seven-thirty, and dark, early in Tokyo. Of course, he'd only been waiting fifteen minutes anyway; Youji was rarely on time. He leaned against the pole again and began watching the people that passed him by. He wondered what had actually made him come at Youji's call. Right now he wanted little more than to go home and maybe watch some TV, eat some ramen, and fall asleep on the couch. Yet, instead, he stood alone on the crowded sidewalk in front of one of the most well-known clubs in downtown Tokyo, dressed in a tight black shirt and jeans (and he was very aware of the stares he was receiving in payment for exposing what little of his body he did), and waiting for a man and his crowd of lewd followers whom were never at a place when they said they would be there.

"Kenken!" The voice greeted him, as usual. It seemed ridiculous to even think he could meet up with Youji without being addressed, instead of in an ordinary fashion, by the nickname he so cursed.

"My name is Ken; only one Ken. No need to add another on there." He grumbled and turned to meet the voice.

He froze, brown eyes going wide.

"My, everytime I see you you seem to have some ridiculous look on your face. It's quite unbecoming." A tall redhead with a foreign accent, loosely attached to Youji's arm smirked, leaning forward and patting Ken on the cheeck with a patronising manner. Schuldig hadn't been around Ken very frequently, but enough to feel comfortable teasing the brunet for whatever reason he was provided. And that didn't take anything, really.

Ken felt like flipping the other man off, but opted for keeping his eyes glued to a figure standing not three feet behind the happy couple.

A pair of surprised violets lifted to stare directly back at him.

"Kenken," Youji drawled, a smirk dancing on his thin lips, causing his German partner to raise an eyebrow in question, "This," He gestured to Ran, "is my roommate: Fujimiya--"

"I know him." The brunette cut in quietly, blinking and nodding to the other man, "Nice to see you again."

Ran was unable to speak.

Suddenly, it became blatantly apparent. Youji's smile said far too much about the subject for a normal introduction, and he seemed less than surprised to hear the two had already met, almost... relieved. How Youji had known was a mystery, but the fact that he had had inspired something strange in the Tokyo air. Ominous. Quite rude of him, actually.

So much for a kiss goodbye.

"Is that so?" Schuldig gave a lazy smile, seeming to catch on, "Well, in that case you won't have to wait for introduction before you fuc--" And hand clamped down on his lips before he could finish the sentence and caused him to glare at his blond boyfriend.

Youji made a cutting motion across his throat and mouthed the word "tact", all as subtly as possible, before turning back to smile at the two, now very suspicious men before him, "Yes, anyway, thank you for taking him," another gesture to Ran, who was vaguely aware of being treated like a vase in someone's living room, "off our hands. Don't know how we'd fuck with him around."

Ken rolled his eyes and made to cut in but the couple was already strolling through a line of people to get into the club, waving a swift goodbye behind them. He sighed exaggeratedly and simply stood for a minute. This was most certainly an unexpected change in events. Firstly, Youji had been lying about not bringing anyone along (hardly surprising), and secondly, the person he brought along was _Ran_ whom he had senselessly kissed (or kissed senseless?) two evenings ago half-expecting never to see him again.

"I've been discarded." The redhead mumbled, still staring lostly at the disappearing form of his roommate.

"Yea, he's an asshole." They were talking about Youji right?

"I didn't even want to come here, and when I finally do, he just leaves me."

"He does that." Ken sighed quietly, looking hesitantly at the crowd as they stood in silence for a moment, "So, are we going in?"

The redhead gave a small shrug, reluctantly meeting brown eyes, "Like I said, I didn't really want to come here to begin with."

"Me, either."

"We could go get some tea?" He moved his gaze hesitantly back to the brunet, somehow that didn't really feel like what he had meant to ask, "I don't really feel like going back yet..."

Ken glanced up at him and nodded hesitantly, wondering why he suddenly felt so tense, "Sure. Where?"

"I don't come here usually, I don't know where's close."

"Well, we could just go to my apartment?"

They were both silent for a second.

"I didn't mean that to sound propositioning."

Ran was almost unsuccessful at hiding a smirk and simply nodded, trying to appear nonchalant. It was happening again, quickly now, a quick rush of impulsiveness, though the guilt would find him again soon. The brunet had some-how managed to affect him. He felt vaguely that that could get to be irritating.

"Ok, then." Ken turned to lead the way, mentally smacking himself for sounding like some sort of hentai.

The two set off walking down the curve of a long brightly-lit street advertising almost every product and show available in the whole of downtown Tokyo. The train ride from there was crowded and uneventful, aside from the part where Ran was assaulted by the wondering hands of a very happily smiling elderly woman whom seemed to confuse his backside with her walker.

They said very little until they had reached the brunet's apartment door. It had taken several blocks of walking and only a few flights of climbing (the lift had never worked in the entirity of Ken's residency) to reach the small apartment, but Ran was glad to be away from the crowd when they did.

"Pardon the mess," the brunet spoke lightly as he cast his shoes off at the door and entered, closely followed by his guest.

The apartment he lived in was tiny, indeed, hardly two rooms, and having never been confined to such a small space himself, Ran wondered how he managed. In one corner was a small TV on a black shelf, beneath it was a mangled mass of wires that obscured a DVD player and VCR, there was little adorning the bare white walls but a small framed picture of a group of kids in soccer uniforms and a tacky 7-11 calendar (this month showing a picture of a nearly naked Yoshiki playing the piano). **1** The only other real objects of furniture were the small two-person green couch that looked ages worn and a small black table with three unmatching chairs by the kitchenette. Two doors on the opposite end of the room lead to what must have been a tiny bathroom and Ken's bedroom.

Over everything was a litter of papers, boxes, pictures, and old motorcycle and sports magazines. One of the chairs was laying on its back on the floor. The couch was turned away from the TV. A cup was turned over on the kitchenette counter dripping a strange green liquid into an already sizeable puddle on the floor beneath it. And for some off reason the entire room seemed to smell like oranges, though there wasn't an orange in sight.

Ran was almost frightened to leave the welcome mat. There had obviously been an earthquake while they were mounting the three flights of stairs up that they hadn't been informed about yet. Perhaps they had better turn on the TV...

"Sorry about the mess, like I said." Ken frowned surveying his appartment quickly with a bemused frown, "It seems to have gotten worse since I stopped paying attention to it."

The redhead suppressed the say something witty and defaming, instead opting to remove his shoes and head for the couch, "It's alright."

"So, tea?" Ken set the dripping cup upright on the counter top and began to prepare some tea, merely stepping aorund the puddle to do so.

"Please."

As the brunet busied himself behind him, the Fujimiya took another glance around the room, "Do you live here by yourself?"

"Yea, just me."

"I was just wondering if one man alone was capable of this cyclone."

Ken threw him a minute glare, "I am capable of anything I put my mind to." He recited helpfully.

Hiding another grin, the redhead turned his face away, "How long have you lived here?"

"In Tokyo or this appartment?" The other man's voice responded distractedly.

"Both."

"Well, I grew up in Tokyo, and I've lived in this appartment since my last year of highschool; about three years."

"Aya said you dropped out."

Ken paused in his work, biting his lip as he pulled out two instant tea bags and brought the mugs over to the couch, "Sorry I don't have a coffee table or something."

Evasion tactics.

"So Youji's your roommate, huh?" The brunet smirked as he seated himself, "What fun times you must have together. I bet every night's full of fun ghost-stories over a lively boy-scout campfire." Sarcasm.

"If you mean me alone reading a book in the commons by the TV while he fucks some obscure person senseless in our dorm room, then yes. Yes, that's it exactly."

Ken sniggered at that, "I would expect as much."

They were silent for a moment, both thinking. The tenseness that had been waning with the conversation seemed to be rebuilding itself with every passing moment. As if they were both just waiting impatiently for some undoubtedly awful end to an already surprising night. Before Ran could quite understand why he had asked, the words of a much mentally-debated question had left his lips.

"Why did you...?"

Ken was still for a moment; he had been expecting this question but still didn't have an answer, "I don't know. Why did you respond?"

"I don't know."

"Well, it's not like I planned it or something. I mean, I think you're attractive and all, but I don't usually do that to people; date them and kiss their siblings."

The redhead frowned. As he knew it would be, the guilt was back, "It shouldn't have happened."

The brunet nodded a silent agreement, not but inches away from the older man.

"But I've been thinking about it." He spoke again quietly, "And I can't stop thinking about it."

Ken raised an eyebrow, he had hardly expected the redhead to be so forward on such a subject.

"The guilt is incredible."

Nevermind. This was going to be angsty.

The room was silent save for muffled sounds of traffic out on the street.

"I think you should break up with her." Ran muttered, still looking at the wall before them.

Ken was silent for a moment, before turning to the other man with a somewhat incredulous look (nevermind that that had been the intention of his visit to the Fujimiya house two evenings ago anyway; he still had no place telling him what to do about his and Aya's relationship). Demanding people had always been a set-off for Ken's temper and, almost subconsciously, the anger relieved his nerves. "Who are _you_ to tell _me_ that?"

"You can't say you feel no guilt for what happened." Violet eyes narrowed at him slightly.

"What happened! I could just tell her the truth and hope she would understand!" Or maybe not.

"I don't think you honestly want her to know what happened."

"So you want me just to break up with her? Why are you so protective of her? I thought she told me you were her _brother,_ not her _father_!"

"I just don't want to see her needlessly hurt; I know I regret what happened, and if you have any shame or feeling for her you should too!"

"'What happened', 'what happened', 'what happened'. You just keep saying that." Ken's voice lowered, brown eyes narrowing, "And exactly _what_ happened, Fujimiya-san?"

Ran glared and looked as if he were going to respond, but he quickly shut his mouth and tightened his expression into a firm scowl. Amazing how that memory was both thriling and angering. He berated himself horribly for almost wishing it would happen again.

The younger man's gaze was heated and flickered dangerously beneath the dim ceiling light, "Are you so ashamed to say it?"

"It shouldn't have happened!"

"So?" The brunett countered simply.

"So...!" Ran struggled to find a response for a moment, "So... It shouldn't have happened!"

"So?"

"So you shouldn't have kissed me!" An irritated yell.

"Would you really rather I hadn't?" An openly curious gaze from brown eyes.

What a foolish game.

The brunet hardly waited for a response, "If so, we'll just act like it never happened. I never kissed you; you never responded. And be done with it."

"Will you break up with her?" Ran pressed again; he didn't want to act like it didn't happen, but it would be best to, "It's not fair to her."

Ken rolled his eyes and stood, "That was why I was at your house that evening in the first place."

Silence.

"Oh." The Fujimiya could think of nothing else to respond with. He suddenly felt somewhat foolish.

"I was breaking up with her because I find myself more attracted to you than her." He through another quick glance at the redhead before going to set his mug in the small sink, "Though I wasn't meaning to start anything with you, either."

Ran wasn't sure what he was supposed to say to that. For the first time in his 22 years of existance, someone had openly admitted to having some sort of romantic feeling for him. It was a strange feeling, too. It was like a burst of heat had expanded from his chest and now filled him to very tips on his fingers, but much more opaque was the sudden realisation that he fully returned that feeling.

The guilt he had felt for the past day had been nerve-wracking, but the cause of that guilt, despite it's consequences, was still something he wanted to happen again. He didn't know how it would happen, if it did, or why, but it was undeniably something he wanted. He wasn't going to admit that to anyone but himself, though.

He didn't want to forget that.

On the other hand, Ken had five fingers, quite literally. He wasn't as guiltless as he seemed to appear to his redheaded guest. He had naturally felt a bit bruised internally, that if he had to have kissed anyone else it just had to be his girlfriend's brother (the Gods really hated him, more so than they hated everyone else that had the common angst to think such purposeless sod). Yet the intentions of his presence in the Fujimiya house that evening were ebbing away at that easily. He hadn't meant to start anything with her brother that evening before he arrived at the Fujimiya house, and he wasn't going to start anything with him now.

Nevermind that he had invited the other man in for tea, and he was now standing just metres away by the couch, staring at him with some unidentifiable expression on his gaunt, pale face.

He stared solemnly back. It was as if some foreign idea had invaded his thoughts suddenly. Some subtle prodding notion of _que sera sera_ that urged him to step forward and approach that lone pale-figure sheathed in black.

In their minds they told themselves they were fools. Why not do what fools do best?

The string of anticipation was short as the brunet captured his lips again, and he responded without a moments hesitation. He had been thinking of this since that evening in the rain, hiding it behind his dutiful fan of guilt in the way that a blushing geisha hides her smile. It was now a tangible wish for the sweet texture of another's lips and the applied pressure of another's kiss after so long without.

He felt a pair of cool hands slowly guide themselves down his black-clad arms and intwine their fingers in his own all while stepping forward, pushing him backward until he felt the firm arm of the old green couch pressing at his back. In turn he pressed forward deeper with his mouth and his body until his hands wondered away from Ken's and slowly began to skim across the back of his neck and into his lover's touseled brown hair.

A low moan arose slowly from the back of the other man's throat, the reaction evident as the other mans now wondering hands drifted up his chest and had the top three buttons of his shirt undone with questionable ease. His jacket was pushed over his shoulders and he lowered his arms, allowing the useless garmet fall to the couch he was situated against.

Ken's lips withdrew from his slowly, turned to begin a trail of teasing pressure and gentle bites down the exposed white skin of his neck, an he leaned back instinctively for better access. His hands moved alike to the hemline of the other man's fitted black shirt, ghosting across the skin beath, and pulling upwards to remove the item as he felt the last of his own buttons undone and his shirt effortlessly being pushed aside.

The phone rang.

Ignoring it, Ran shrugged the shirt off, now pushing the brunet backwards but moving with him, and attacked the other man's lips eagerly.

The phone continued to ring and ring in spite of it's inconvenience.

It even rang some more just for the hell of it.

Ken's shirt was removed in seconds, and the younger man's fingers skim across the top of his slacks with flickering motions before beginning to work skillfully at removing the belt and undoing the clasps beneath while his lips were otherwise distracted.

_Ring, ring._

The brunet pulled away suddenly with a low growl that his lover could only echo, as he slumped against the couch waiting for the younger man to find the phone in the exploded paper-mill that was his apartment. He knelt and peeked under the couch quickly before searching again over by the TV, until he had found the small black device resting on the floor behind an inconveniently placed box of instant rice. He lifted it to press the "talk" button, when it conveniently decided to stop.

With an exasperated sigh, Ken dropped the phone and rolled his eyes, muttering, "Stupid people who use telephones..."

At that moment Ran's mobile rang from his jacket-pocket on the couch, and the pale, half-dressed Fujimiya reach down to retrieve the vice, his hands fumbling somewhat less gracefully then usual. Of course this would happen. It happened all the time in films and books, why not in daily affairs? He flipped the small silver phone open and growled irritably into the receiver, "What?"

"Hey! How's it goin', Ran?" A smug voice responded almost over-whelmed by a great deal of blaring noise in the background.

"Kudou." He sounded about as excited as a brick.

Across the room Ken rolled his eyes and sighed, dragging his feet as he walked quietly back over to the couch to lean against the edge in a slouched manner. Ran watched him keenly, with narrowed violet eyes.

"Yea! I tried calling Ken's line, but then no one answered so I figured you guys must be having sex about now."

Ran wasn't sure if he had heard that correctly or if Youji's race of being simply had yet to evolve beyond a community of completely unlivable fucktards with the mentality of a league of pre-adolescent children with attention-span deficiency on crack in the plastic ball-pit at the park.

"So you called my line?"

"Well... Oh." The other man paused, "Yea, well I just called to see what was up, and where you guys had gone."

Ran growled, but it caught in his throat as Ken approached him again, shaking his head and frowning solemly. A tanned hand reached out again, hooking a finger around one of his belt loops and pulling him forward.

"You guys didn't even come in or tell us you were leaving, so I didn't know whether to be happy that you were finally getting some or worried than some gang jumped out mugged you or killed you or something. You know how those gangs can be when they all creep out at night..."

The brunet leaned forward, brushing his lips teasingly across Ran's free ear before trailing his tongue down the curve and once back to his neck. Ran felt his pants, now much too tight for comfort, finally being removed and the friction of another body pressing into his own. Wait, he was still on the mobile, right?

Youji's voice ghosted in through his hazy thoughts, "...and he just jumped me! I was like, 'What the hell do you think you're doing?' So, finally I got the guy to back off and put down the whip. I mean, that was just _totally_ uncalled for..."

A hand drifted up, grabbing the phone from the redhead's hand delicately and shutting said device in one swift motion. He tossed the phone carelessly to the couch and assaulted the other man's lips, taking hold of Ran's now free arms and began pulling the man away from the couch. The other man followed willingly, unwelcomed phone call forgotten.

Ken's low voice sent a chill down his spine, "The bed would be better for this, I think."

**to be continued**

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**1** Has anyone else seen this commercial? Where Yoshiki (X Japan) is playing the piano, and it's all random and whatnot?

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**Thank you...** (I would have responded to more of you but I had to get this piece out tonight and it would have taken too long otherwise. So sorry!)

**Zeto **- I was hoping to get to the part about Ran and his dad in this part, but it simply didn't work out that way. Soon! Maybe next chapter! I really love that part, and I'm dying to get it out. And more RanKen fanservice! Hurrah! Hope you enjoy!

**M4r1-chan** - Yay! Another J-Rock fan? J'adore! That's one of my favourite hobbies, I'm into so many bands I can't even keep my head straight thinking about it. You like Pierrot, too? Fantastic! One of the best!

**HeatherR** - Yes! The kiss! I finally got to the RanKen part (it always seems like I'm planning it but never actually writing it). The part about Ran and his dad is something I am dying to write, and I may have to put it into the next chapter before it kills me and I spill the proverbial edamame ahead of time. Joy! I hope you enjoyed this part; it was vicious trying to get it to end on a semi-intimate yet humourous note. Thanks for the comments on Aya's realness, too. It's much appreciated as that was the goal. Happy RanKen!

**Krysana** - The truth about Ran's redhair is revealed... between chapters. Meh, I tried for citrusy, but I can't seem to do it! (weeping) I hope you enjoyed this, though!

**Elfgoddess00 **- Thank you so much! It's nice to hear my facts affirmed! I much appreciate it! Thank you so much for your lovely comments!

**kailah **- As for the SD being "somewhat temporarily on hiatus until whenever maybe ever or whatever", it's true that the RanKen was the real attracting factor, so I can see what you are saying. So happy you're enjoying the fic, though!

Thank you everyone who responded! I shall have more time to respond next time, hopefully.

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_"I would not have sex with my sister's boyfriend."_ Sure you wouldn't, Ran. Sure you wouldn't.  
Reviews are appreciated. 


	6. So happy together

Here it is; the last part. Sorry it took so long to update, I'm horrible, I know. The sappiness in this fic kills me, I was not far from gagging as I wrote certain parts. So the ending is just craziness. I hope you have enjoyed this as I have really enjoyed writing it (though I take forever, I know). Thank you for all your lovely reviews, too. I am much honoured by you all and always very delighted and happy to receive them. :)

There are some additional character notes that explain the details about what happened to both Ran and Ken before this fic on my LJ (in my bio), if you get this a while late the date to look for is listed below. Sorry in advance for Aya chan's hideous OC-ness.

(25 May 2005)

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**Together  
**by _Seph Lorraine_

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The two hadn't fallen asleep until the early hours of the morning and had slept deeply without disturbance for much longer than what Ran was accustomed to. The redhead was awakened unpleasantly by the heat of the late morning sun beating down against the green sheets of the small bed. It was unpleasantly hot and stuffy, and everywhere he seemed to turn gave him no relief from the unnerving temperatures. The brunett, still sleeping peacefully beside him, made no indication that the heat bothered him, though a light sheen of perspiration was visible on his exposed back. 

He lay still, despite the heat, staring blankly at the other man's back for a while, wincing at the sudden soreness he felt from moving. **1**

He was surprised when the brunet suddenly began to move, kicking the covers away from his overheated form. Bearing down with his arms, he began to lift himself a bit. After a moment of hazy blinking at the sunny wall at the head of his bed, Ken yawned and stretched a bit mumbling something unintelligible and sitting up.

"It's hot in here." He stated blankly, his back to the redhead.

Ran simply snorted and pulled himself up a bit, pulling the sheets to his waist somewhat modestly considering the open window directly beside him. Had that been open the evening before?

The brunett turned a bit to blink at the other man lazily, "I gotta' get a shower."

Violet eyes made no adjustment, simply staring at him expressionlessly without response.

"Are you coming?"

His lips tilted a bit and he felt himself being pulled from the bed by a pair of eager hands.

An hour later, both of them sore and tired again, yet inevitably clean, the two men sat on the sofa, mugs of tea in hand and TV spouting senseless news about sunny skies until tuesday and three people being stabbed to death in a nearby apartment complex. There had been very little conversation in the morning thus far, what had existed between them as of yet had been nothing but moans of pleasure and witty barbs directed at one another for various reasons of teasing. They knew what was to be done, had settled it the evening before, just not how to do it.

It had been late when the decision was made, both bodies tired and mere footsteps from sleep when the brunet has asked in whispered tones, "What will I tell Aya chan?" and the redhead had responded with an accompanied constriction of his arms around the other man's thin waist, "Just tell her you can't be with her because you're with me."

There had been no argument about it.

So, Ran was very surprised when Ken spoke up, as he sat himself carefully down with his tea, "I've got to work at one. I was thinking I would go by and see your sister when I get off."

"And what all will you tell her?" The redhead trained his violet gaze on the other man carefully. The brunet was back to his baggy-attire. He wore a thin green soccer jersy and some loose, wrinkly jeans that completely concealed his white-socked feet. Everything about him was calm and pensive. Hard to believe that not an hour ago they had been fucking in the shower.

"Everything."

Ran was still, the warm edges of his mug heating his hand as he gripped tighter, "Ok... Just do me a favour, if you do."

Brown irises observed him questioningly.

"If my father answers the door, just leave and call her to meet you somewhere else."

"Why?"

"Just don't get involved with him. It's more trouble than it's worth." The redhead didn't turn to meet his eyes. "He doesn't like me, and I know he'll hate you."

Knowing instinctively that his lover wasn't about to elabourate Ken nodded, "So, I take it you guys aren't on good terms."

Without thinking the redhead bit back, "Well you can't tell me your parents are fond of you. Look at how you live."

The brunet stared at him boredly, "If I had any I might have been offended by that."

Ran was silent for a while, trying to smother the guilt that now stained his violet eyes, finally he made as if to apologize but was cut off brisquely.

"But I don't, so I'm not." He paused before continuing, "What about your mum?"

"She's fine."

"Aa, I see. So if your mum or Aya chan answer, it's a go. If it's Fujimiya san, it's a run while you can."

"My father is very skilled with a katana."

"So it's a 'run away screaming'."

Resisting a smirk at the mental image that provided, it was suddenly surprising how different the other man was now that he was on comfortable grounds with him. Ken was a perfect balance between the teacher's pet and the trouble maker, a lofty class A charmer whom, while his predecessors handed out roses and expensive smiles, seduced a plethora of people unconsciously with his natural wit and attitude. No wonder he'd been so suspicious of him at first. He was a rare find. And it just made him wonder all the more.

"What happened to your parents?"

The brunett blinked at him, caught off his guard by the question, and shrugged, "Not sure, I never knew them. I grew up in a shelter."

Nodding quietly, Ran continued, "And you dropped out of school?"

Ken hesitated slightly before responding to that one, but he had expected this one, "Yea, there was this guy, two or three years older than me**. 2** We were just a bad match, and I made a lot of mistakes because of him. I started getting into a lot of trouble when we were seeing each other, and it came to the point that I would either have to drop out or be expelled. If anything, I still had my dignity, so I dropped out. It's ok, now, though. He's been gone for almost a year, and I haven't missed any of it since he left."

The redhead watched him quietly for a few more moments. Why did that story sound so familiar?

They both left the small, trashy apartment at about fifteen past noon, heading out onto the crowded city streets, each going their seperate ways. As Ran headed towards the University to find some poor classmate to intimidate some missed lecture notes out of, Ken took the train to to the Koneko no Sumu Ie wondering why train radios were so fond of the Astroboy theme lately. **3 **The air of the city seemed unusually fresh somehow.

The day passed quickly to get the story to the next scene, leaving the employees of the small flower shoppe a bit confused when only a paragraph later it was quittin' time. One by one all two men and a little old lady clocked in their hours and headed off for the evening. It was only a brief walk and about 20 minutes from there that Ken found himself at the door of the Fujimiya home.

Brown eyes trained themselves on the closed door directly before them. He muttered a reminder to himself beneath his breath to run if he were in sights to be accosted by the Fujimiya father, "Run away from the homophobic dad. Run away from the homophobic dad."

He rung the bell quickly and dug his heel into the rug, prepared to start a good sprint at a second's notice.

After a moment the door swung open, revealing the warm light of the genkan as it leaked through the cracked doorway onto his shoes, creeping slowly up his legs as the door opened wider. The house was rather quiet, though the sounds of a television hummmed familiarly from the den and a kettle's muffled whistle resonated from the kitchen beyond that.

Aya stood quietly and guardedly in the doorway. She was dressed in a pair of wrinkly grey track pants and a pink t-shirt, her hair in it's usual pigtails, but despite her usual sweet appearance, her eyes were careful and observing. She wasn't smiling.

Somehow, though he had no idea how that would be, she already knew.

"Konbanwa, Aya chan." He spoke quietly, bowing a bit.

She nodded, "Ken kun."

"I was hoping I could speak with you for a minute." Brown eyes looked up at her hopefully.

The dark-haired girl hesitated for a moment before nodding and stepping out and closing the door softly behind her. She followed him to the front step and copied as he sat, facing the small area in front of the house.

They were silent for a moment before she spoke up, "I know why you're here."

"You do?"

"I saw you two in the yard, right here, that night that it was raining." She glanced at him for a second before looking directly ahead again, "He was handing you something and you kissed him." She spoke slowly and calmly, as if she had done a lot of thinking on the matter. "So I knew, that when you came here next, it would be to break up with me. Am I right?"

Ken watched her, frowning. That explained it, he hadn't received any calls from her since that day either, now that he thought about it, "Yes."

She nodded and when she spoke next her voice was icy and she refused to look at him, "So did my brother convince you that you were guilty of some horrible dishonour, then? Or do you just really not like me?"

"That's not it." He shook his head, "I do like you, Aya chan. You're brilliant, you make me smile, and you're understanding enough not to just have hit me when you saw me at the door." He frowned, "But that may still come later, I don't know. It's just that I don't like _you _like I like _him_."

Aya nodded sombrely, and then as if just catching on to what he had said, she blinked at him, "You actually _like_ Ran-niichan?"

He nodded, unfortuantely understanding why that might seem sort of strange.

"Well I guess it's about time_ someone_ did." She huffed.

Ken sniggered quietly, by the slight tilt of her cherry lips it was obvious she was joking.

"It's just..." She sighed, sitting up straight to look him squarely in the eye, "Ran's been through some serious stuff with my dad about this kind of thing. I don't think he's going to be very pleased."

"Homophobic dad?" The brunet smirked, "He didn't really say much about that, but that's what I figured. Oh well, it's not anything big, like getting married or anything."

She wrinkled her nose a bit, looking thoughtful, "Well, it's not so much that as what happened when he found out about Ran."

Ken turned to her, listening quietly.

"A little over two years ago 'niichan started going out a lot in the evenings, and he wouldn't really tell anyone where he was going. 'Kaasan just started to worry, as usual, but our father became suspicious. So he started bringing Ran into his office at the bank to do some work for him, but then it turned out Ran would go missing for hours at a time while he was there, too." She looked at him intently, "When our father finally found out what was happening, he completely lost it. It turned out that Ran was seeing one of the University interns at the office, this guy he called Botan. Anyway, the guy ended up getting a transfer somehow to another office and 'niichan was almost disowned- 'kaasan would never have allowed -that- to happen, though. Ran was really upset about it afterwards and stopped seeing people, 'niichan and our father have not been on good terms since."

That was certainly a bit forboding.

The brunet stared at her quietly for a moment, "I never would've thought he had it in him."

Aya smiled suddenly, "He he! Ran-niichan's so full of surprises!" She pulled herself from the step with a flourish and grabbed his hand

"So you're not angry?" He asked as she pulled him to his feet. She giggled as she tried to brush the dust off his backside and he battered her hands away.

"I can't be, if you're happy." She smiled lightly, "But tell me, are you together?"

"Yea..." The brunett frowned. He thought that was sort of assumed.

"Then you must come meet my mother! And 'niichan has been waiting for you to get here for, like, an hour and I'm sick of being mad at him."

Ken quirked an eyebrow, "You could have mentioned that a little earlier, you know..."

Sticking out her tongue playfully, she pushed the door open with zeal, cringing only slightly as it slammed into the wall, "'Kaasan!" She pulled him in through the foyer and the den, stumbling to keep up with her into the brightly lit kitchen of the Fujimiya house.

A rather short woman stood at the counter holding a kettle in one hand and a mug in the other staring at them blankly.

Ran's head, from where he sat at the table, hit the hard wooden surface with a _thunk_, "Aya-chan, you weren't supposed to bring him-" But she cut him off.

"Look, mum! It's Ran's boyfriend!" She wriggled her eyebrows suggestively before bouncing to take another seat at the table.

Ken, unguarded and not paying full attention, looked over at Ran and mouthed, 'What are you doing here?'

The kettle clashed as it hit the floor, closely followed by the mug, but before the brunet could turn to look the short woman had barrelled into his stomach and was hugging him tightly, "He's so cute! And he's got a sweet smile! And such a firm ass!"

Ran, pale and mortifyed from his position at the table mouthed a subtle, 'I'm sorry. I really am.' back to his 'cute boyfriend' and returned to wishing he wasn't alive.

"Now, there's one thing you need to know if you're going to date my 'niichan, so listen very closely." From her chair, Aya's dark eyes were suddenly smouldering with intensity as they regarded her ex and her brother's current boyfriend in a very Ran-esque manner, "I believe we all know your intentions with my brother, and his thusly with you. But if you ever hurt him in any way, shape, or form, I will hunt you down with a flaying fork, flay you, beat you with one of your own dismembered appendages, and bury you in our front yard. Then I will kill you."

Ken blinked.

Ran sighed.

They all lived happily every after.

**together**

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**1** Is that a bit of Seme!Ken induced love? Yes. Yes, it is. 

**2** Everyone know's it's Kase, right? More info in the explanation I mentioned.

**3** Aha! One of my friends was in Japan just recently and while he was over there he kept sending me emails about how he would hear the Astroboy theme everytime he rode the train. It amused me.

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**Thank you...** to all of you who reviewed this fic, left me comments on LJ, and e-mailed me! I adore you all- :X 

**HeatherR** - Mwa! I'm so happy you liked Youji! He's so fun to write. And I'm happy you caught on to the chapter titles, I didn't know if many people would since no one said anything. I am especially thankful for your reviews; you always give me such thoughtful comments and I always really appreciate them. Thank you so much!

**M4r1-chan** - Well, it wasn't a Yoshiki poster, it was one of those 7-11 convenience store calendar things (I'm not sure if they even have them in Japan). I had no idea what would be on one in Japan, and I had just watched that 7-11 commercial with Yoshiki on it, so I stuck him on it. But yes, there are some bad J-Rocker nudes out there and some good ones (much naked-Hakuei love!). Sorry there wasn't more Schu like you requested, but I really wouldn't have know how to stick him in there. Thanks for your reviews, 'tis so awesome to talk about J-Rock with interesting people.

**Zeto **- Ahaha! I'm so happy you liked the Youji imagery. He's just an awesome guy, and if I honestly had more plot ideas I'd write a fic about him. Sorry about the lack of lemon. It probably would've been better with one, alas I am unfortunately disable when it comes to that part. When it comes to lemons, I sort of freeze up and forget my name and how to breathe for a while. But, one day...! Thank's so much for your reviews!

**Atsureki **- I'm very happy that you took the time to read this, given you mentioned not reading WK anymore. I'm quite happy that you've enjoyed it too. Hope this last chapter wasn't a disappointment, I know it was tres late. Thank you so much for reading!

**StrawberryPockyPoo** - "unconventionally written fanfics"? He he! I love that! Thank you so much for reading, I'm happy you enjoy my RanKen fics (it is the Holy Pairing, after all). Another J-Rock fan! Haven't seen the Yoshiki commercial? Well if you ever want to see it, I can send it to you, if you like. It's really bizarre and has absolutely nothing to do with 7-11, yet it is a 7-11 commercial. oO; Yes, Gackt has some strange commercials (the Weatherman one for E-ma candy is especially hilarious). And Plastic Tree is love! Hurrah for PuraTuri fans! Thanks so much for reading! Happy RanKen!

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_Until they were all quite suddenly eaten by a pack of vicious, starving wolves.  
_Reviews are appreciated. 


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